Critical severity · published Aug 10, 2026
CVE-2026-68160
ceph: fix pre-auth out-of-bounds read on snaptrace in ceph_handle_caps()
9.8
CVSS
0.8%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ceph: fix pre-auth out-of-bounds read on snaptrace in ceph_handle_caps()
ceph_handle_caps() reads snap_trace_len from the wire-format
ceph_mds_caps header and uses it unconditionally to build a fake
end pointer (snaptrace + snaptrace_len) that is later handed to
ceph_update_snap_trace() in the CEPH_CAP_OP_IMPORT case:
snaptrace = h + 1;
snaptrace_len = le32_to_cpu(h->snap_trace_len);
p = snaptrace + snaptrace_len;
...
case CEPH_CAP_OP_IMPORT:
if (snaptrace_len) {
...
if (ceph_update_snap_trace(mdsc, snaptrace,
snaptrace + snaptrace_len,
false, &realm)) { ... }
ceph_update_snap_trace() then decodes a struct ceph_mds_snap_realm
from snaptrace using ceph_decode_need(&p, e, sizeof(*ri), bad)
with the attacker-supplied fake end e == snaptrace + snaptrace_len.
With snaptrace_len == 0xFFFFFFFF the bound check is trivially
satisfied, ri = p reads sizeof(struct ceph_mds_snap_realm) past
the legitimate msg->front buffer, and ri->num_snaps /
ri->num_prior_parent_snaps then drive further out-of-bounds
reads of the encoded snap arrays.
The eleven msg_version >= 2 .. msg_version >= 12 decoder blocks
above the op switch each catch this OOB through their
ceph_decode_*_safe() / ceph_decode_need() helpers, but they sit
behind a hdr.version-gated if, so a malicious or compromised
MDS that sets msg->hdr.version = 1 reaches the IMPORT path with
no version-gated decoder having validated snap_trace_len. The
shape has been present since ceph_handle_caps() was introduced.
Validate snap_trace_len against the message front buffer before
consuming it, using the canonical ceph_decode_need() / ceph_has_room()
helper. The helper bounds the length with subtraction (n <= end - p,
guarded by end >= p) rather than pointer addition, so it is wrap-safe
for the attacker-controlled u32 length on 32-bit builds where
p + snap_trace_len could overflow the address space. This matches the
rest of the ceph decode path (e.g. the pool_ns_len check a few lines
below), and the existing goto bad cleanup already covers this exit
path.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.8% · higher than 55% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea before f913192fc782288e060dafc329b2346934be34cc; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea before 0c011137194036424e974677e0f1592e22a33d8c; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea before cc93f68a31c9b831abf2db8647b5f5b10329d793; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea before 9081c71796724ffe96cba253f68fbe42363c5295; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea before 03b417afce19ee6b6e61f1bbbbebac924c9f36d1; a8599bd821d084d04a3290fffae1071624ec00ea before a4228b93706fb74a484e6ffb271c1cc2af3a2ddb; +3 more · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68160
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68160
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03b417afce19ee6b6e61f1bbbbebac924c9f36d1
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c011137194036424e974677e0f1592e22a33d8c
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4dbc71bcaf9a30abf3920a4e2cc4ed33bba78c02
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71893c342a26bcff92eaab0b2b75d64aed19308a
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9081c71796724ffe96cba253f68fbe42363c5295
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4228b93706fb74a484e6ffb271c1cc2af3a2ddb
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