IB/isert: reject PDUs declaring more data than was received
Affects the Linux kernel iSER target code (isert) from 3.10.0 onward. Fixed in stable releases including 5.10.270, 6.1.188, 6.12.110 and 7.2.6, depending on branch.
- Published
- Last modified
- Where the record stands: published, rejected by its publisher, or superseded by another id.What do these mean? →
- published
- Whether CISA lists it in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog: proof that attackers are using it.What do these mean? →
- Not listed in CISA KEV
- How many real-world setups can hit the bug, from the vendor's advisory and CISA data. It does not know your setup.What do these mean? →
- Unclear
- Fix
- Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, and 2 more
- Whether working attack code is public (Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei or GitHub). Public code makes attacks easier.What do these mean? →
- None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub
Summary
The Linux kernel's iSER target driver (isert), used for iSCSI storage over RDMA networks, is affected. A remote initiator can declare a data length larger than the data it actually sent, causing the driver to read past the bounds of its receive buffer, which can lead to memory disclosure or system instability.
Summarized by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5. Verify details against the original sources.
Read the original description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: IB/isert: reject PDUs declaring more data than was received isert_recv_done() hands each received PDU to the opcode handlers without ever looking at wc->byte_len, the number of bytes the HCA actually placed in the receive descriptor. The handlers then copy that many bytes - the data-segment length the initiator declared in the BHS (ntoh24(hdr->dlength), via the derived unsol_data_len / imm_data_len) - out of the fixed-size descriptor: isert_handle_iscsi_dataout(): sg_copy_from_buffer(sg_start, sg_nents, isert_get_data(rx_desc), unsol_data_len); isert_handle_scsi_cmd(): sg_copy_from_buffer(cmd->se_cmd.t_data_sg, sg_nents, isert_get_data(rx_desc), imm_data_len); Because the declared length is never checked against wc->byte_len, an initiator can declare a data segment larger than the bytes it actually sent (and larger than the descriptor) and cause an out-of-bounds read of the receive buffer. Nothing upstream of isert closes this door: • __iscsit_check_dataout_hdr() bounds the inbound payload against conn_ops->MaxXmitDataSegmentLength (MXDSL) - a transmit parameter, used here for the inbound check. • iscsi_set_connection_parameters() sets ops->MaxXmitDataSegmentLength = ops->TargetRecvDataSegmentLength; and TARGETRECVDATASEGMENTLENGTH is absent from the min()-clamp list in iscsi_check_acceptor_state(), so the value the initiator declares is adopted verbatim (type range 512..16777215). The initiator effectively raises its own ceiling. • isert never clamps the negotiated value to its own fixed receive descriptor (ISER_RX_SIZE, 9216 bytes), so the target core's bound and the descriptor size are unrelated. The imm_data_len == data_len path is more than an over-read: it aliases the receive descriptor via sg_set_buf() and passes it to the backend as the data source for the SCSI WRITE, so an over-declared length causes heap contents past the descriptor to be written through the backend to the backing store. The backend is the victim of the oversized scatterlist isert hands it, not the cause; no read-back of the written bytes was demonstrated. Trigger: after login completes (full feature phase), an initiator that has declared a large TargetRecvDataSegmentLength and a FirstBurstLength that permits unsolicited/immediate data sends a PDU whose declared data-segment length exceeds what was received. With KASAN: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in sg_copy_buffer+0x150/0x1c0 Read of size 4096 at addr ffff888109720800 by task kworker/1:0H/25 Workqueue: ib-comp-wq ib_cq_poll_work Call Trace: sg_copy_buffer+0x150/0x1c0 isert_recv_done+0xba6/0x2390 __ib_process_cq+0xe1/0x390 ib_cq_poll_work+0x46/0x150 isert_recv_done+0xba6 resolves to isert_handle_iscsi_dataout() (ib_isert.c:1160), inlined through isert_rx_opcode(). Validate wc->byte_len against the framing in isert_recv_done() before the PDU reaches any handler, and reinstate the connection if it is short. Because the test compares without subtracting the header length, it also rejects PDUs shorter than the iSER and iSCSI headers, which would otherwise be parsed out of stale descriptor contents. The login handler rejects PDUs shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN (commit 29e7b925ae6d ("IB/isert: Reject login PDUs shorter than ISER_HEADERS_LEN")) but does not bound the declared length either; that is fixed in the next patch. The data handlers had no length check at all. isert reads the data segment from a fixed offset: isert_get_data() returns the iSER header plus ISER_HEADERS_LEN and makes no adjustment for an AHS. The bytes the handlers touch are therefore exactly [ISER_HEADERS_LEN, ISER_HEADERS_LEN + dlength), and comparing that sum against wc->byte_len bounds precisely the region that is read. An AHS term would only make the test stricter without bounding anything furth ---truncated---
Timeline
- CVE published
- Record last updated
Affected versions
- Linux Linux
From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in b4706722ed3ea72882b3c986a19b4a1ba66384c4; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in bc58e9d3dc560220c57b8bdfc12af0cff1c8a43d; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in 274b1ad7e78338710864c4b4235bb1ce7e7107f9; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in 2a6b8f88fb7ee51714a1922a039225bdcaf12855; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in 39da0b7e1f530347d284cebcfc5b5afa90a173bf; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in cf36fa5357a2fb25776a568d13a3653da7d99bcb; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in 352dc85324b29f5c85876f2666f3158b645e3f18; From b8d26b3be8b33682cf163274ed07479a70554633 · fixed in 957f92ea4022fb6af4618271615a2a21a7b5bef9
- Linux Linux
3.10
- KernelLinux
From 3.10.0 · fixed in 5.10.270; From 5.11.0 · fixed in 5.15.221; From 5.16.0 · fixed in 6.1.188; From 6.2.0 · fixed in 6.6.157; From 6.7.0 · fixed in 6.12.110; From 6.13.0 · fixed in 6.18.52; From 6.19.0 · fixed in 7.2.6
References 8
git.kernel.org
- stable/c/b4706722ed3ea72882b3c986a19b4a1ba66384c4
- stable/c/bc58e9d3dc560220c57b8bdfc12af0cff1c8a43d
- stable/c/274b1ad7e78338710864c4b4235bb1ce7e7107f9
- stable/c/2a6b8f88fb7ee51714a1922a039225bdcaf12855
- stable/c/39da0b7e1f530347d284cebcfc5b5afa90a173bf
- stable/c/cf36fa5357a2fb25776a568d13a3653da7d99bcb
- stable/c/352dc85324b29f5c85876f2666f3158b645e3f18
- stable/c/957f92ea4022fb6af4618271615a2a21a7b5bef9
Questions about CVE-2026-90414
What does this mean?
The kernel accepts an iSER PDU that declares more data than was actually received. It then reads past the end of the receive buffer, and heap contents beyond the descriptor can be passed to the backend as the data source for a SCSI WRITE.Source: git.kernel.org
Am I affected, and how do I check?
Kernels from 3.10.0 up to the fixed release for each branch are listed as affected, including the 5.10, 5.15, 6.1, 6.6, 6.12, 6.18 and 7.x series. The bug needs the iSER target (isert) in use, with an initiator that declares a large TargetRecvDataSegmentLength and a FirstBurstLength allowing unsolicited data, after login completes. To check, run uname -r for the kernel version and lsmod | grep isert to see whether the isert module is loaded.Source: git.kernel.org
What should I do about it?
Move to the fixed release for your branch: 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.52, or 7.2.6. Kernels on other branches should use the fix commit for their series.Source: git.kernel.org
Is it being exploited?
It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data