CVE-2026-64456: hwrng: virtio: clamp device-reported used.len at copy_data()

Published Jul 25, 2026
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

hwrng: virtio: clamp device-reported used.len at copydata()

randomrecvdone() stores the device-reported used.len directly into vi->dataavail. copydata() then indexes vi->data[] using vi->dataidx (advanced by previous copydata() calls) and issues a memcpy() without re-validating either value against the posted buffer size sizeof(vi->data) (SMPCACHEBYTES bytes, typically 32 or 64).

A malicious or buggy virtio-rng backend can set used.len beyond sizeof(vi->data), steering the memcpy() past the end of the inline array into adjacent kmalloc-1k slab bytes. hwrngfillfn() mixes those bytes into the guest RNG, and guest root can also observe them directly via /dev/hwrng.

Concrete impact is inside the guest:

- Memory-safety / hardening: any virtio-rng backend that over-reports used.len causes the driver to read past vi->data into unrelated slab contents. hwrngfillfn() is a kernel thread that runs as soon as the device is probed; no guest userspace interaction is required to first-trigger the OOB.

- Cross-boundary leak (confidential-compute threat model): a malicious hypervisor cooperating with a malicious or compromised guest root userspace can use /dev/hwrng as a leak channel for guest-kernel heap data. The host sets a large used.len, guest root reads /dev/hwrng, and the returned bytes contain guest kernel slab contents that were adjacent to vi->data. In practice, confidential-compute guests (SEV-SNP, TDX) usually disable virtio-rng entirely, so this path is narrow, but the fix is still worth carrying because the underlying memory-safety bug contaminates the guest RNG on any host.

KASAN confirms the OOB on a 7.1-rc4 guest whose virtio-rng backend has been patched to report used.len = 0x10000:

BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in virtioread+0x394/0x5d0 Read of size 64 at addr ffff88800ae0ba20 by task hwrng/52 Call Trace: asanmemcpy+0x23/0x60 virtioread+0x394/0x5d0 hwrngfillfn+0xb2/0x470 kthread+0x2cc/0x3a0 Allocated by task 1: probecommon+0xa5/0x660 virtiodevprobe+0x549/0xbc0 The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff88800ae0b800 which belongs to the cache kmalloc-1k of size 1024 The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of allocated 544-byte region [ffff88800ae0b800, ffff88800ae0ba20)

Same class of bug as commit c04db81cd028 ("net/9p: Fix buffer overflow in USB transport layer"), which hardened usb9pfsrxcomplete() against unchecked device-reported length in the USB 9p transport.

With the clamp at point of use and arrayindexnospec() in place, the same harness boots cleanly: copydata() returns zero for the bogus report, the device-supplied bytes after dataidx are discarded, and the driver issues a fresh request.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Linux Kernel hwrng: virtio

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade Linux kernel virtio-rng to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Patch hwrng: virtio: clamp device-reported used.len at copy_data()
  2. Configuration

    Disable virtio-rng entirely on the affected guests/hosts to narrow the vulnerable code path (the text notes: “disable virtio-rng entirely, so this path is narrow”).

    virtio-rng (hwrng) disable virtio-rng = entirely
  3. Compensating control

    Limit/avoid access to the guest RNG leak channel: because confidential-compute guests can probe /dev/hwrng as a leak channel, restrict or monitor access to /dev/hwrng for guest root/userspaces if feasible in your environment.

Event History

Jul 25, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·08:51 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·08:51 AM
DescriptionSeverity
Data Sourced
via NVD·10:17 AM
DescriptionSeverity
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-64456?

CVE-2026-64456 has a high severity rating of 7.7 according to the CVSS 3.1 score.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-64456?

To mitigate CVE-2026-64456, ensure you update to a patched version of the Linux kernel that addresses this vulnerability.

3

What components are affected by CVE-2026-64456?

CVE-2026-64456 affects the virtio random number generator component within the Linux kernel.

4

What attack vector does CVE-2026-64456 involve?

CVE-2026-64456 involves a local attack vector, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive data.

5

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-64456?

CVE-2026-64456 is categorized as an integer overflow vulnerability in the device-reported used length handling.

Contact

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