Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-97991 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Received on 25 Sep 2026, 11:17 UTC
Last updated: 🕙 19 Oct 2026, 10:17 UTC
Originally published on: 🕚 25 Sep 2026, 11:17 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 23 days
CVSS Release: version 3
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2026-97991: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vdpa_sim_blk: reject out-of-range sector starts vdpasim_blk_check_range() logs an invalid start sector but continues validating the request. The subsequent unsigned capacity subtraction can underflow and let an out-of-range buffer offset reach the data path. The invalid offset is used by three request paths. VIRTIO_BLK_T_OUT copies guest data to blk->buffer + offset through vringh_iov_pull_iotlb(), causing an out-of-bounds write in _copy_from_iter() or memcpy(). VIRTIO_BLK_T_IN copies from blk->buffer + offset to the guest through vringh_iov_push_iotlb(), causing an out-of-bounds read in _copy_to_iter(). VIRTIO_BLK_T_WRITE_ZEROES passes blk->buffer + offset to memset(), causing an out-of-bounds write. Reject starts at or beyond the capacity before the subtraction. Treat the capacity boundary as invalid because the IN and OUT paths round byte counts down to sectors for validation but later copy the original byte counts. A sub-sector request at the capacity boundary would otherwise still access past the end of the buffer. I found this bug myself, though the patch was written with AI assistance.
The exploitability of CVE-2026-97991 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
This vulnerability, CVE-2026-97991, requires a high level of attack complexity and low privileges, making it difficult but not impossible to exploit. Organizations should ensure robust security configurations to mitigate risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-97991, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-97991, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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