Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-29642 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Awaiting Analysis
Last updated: 🕗 21 Apr 2026, 20:16 UTC
Originally published on: 🕘 20 Apr 2026, 21:16 UTC
CVSS Release: version 3
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVE-2026-29642: A local attacker who can execute privileged CSR operations (or can induce firmware to do so) performs carefully crafted reads/writes to menvcfg (e.g., csrrs in M-mode). On affected XiangShan versions (commit aecf601e803bfd2371667a3fb60bfcd83c333027, 2024-11-19), these menvcfg accesses can unexpectedly set WPRI (reserved) bits in the status view (xstatus) to 1. RISC-V defines WPRI fields as "writes preserve values, reads ignore values," i.e., they must not be modified by software manipulating other fields, and menvcfg itself contains multiple WPRI fields.
The exploitability of CVE-2026-29642 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).
CVE-2026-29642 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation 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-2026-29642, 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-2026-29642, 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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