CVE-2026-68330: net: airoha: Fix DMA direction for NPU mailbox buffer

Published Aug 10, 2026
·
Updated

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

net: airoha: Fix DMA direction for NPU mailbox buffer

airohanpusendmsg() always maps the mailbox buffer with DMATODEVICE, but some callers expect the NPU to write response data back into the same buffer:

- airohanpuwlanmsgget() (NPUOPGET): NPU writes response into the buffer, then the caller reads it via memcpy() - airohanpuppestatssetup() (NPUOPSET): NPU writes back npustatsaddr field in the response

On non-cache-coherent architectures like EN7581 (Cortex-A53 without hardware cache coherency for NPU DMA), DMATODEVICE unmap is a no-op — it does not invalidate the CPU cache. If the NPU-written cache line is still present in the CPU cache when the caller reads the buffer, the CPU observes stale data instead of the NPU response.

This is a timing-sensitive bug: small mailbox buffers (~24 bytes) typically fit in a single cache line and may survive in the cache until the caller reads them, producing silent data corruption rather than a crash. The bug is more likely to trigger when the caller reads the response immediately after dmaunmapsingle() without intervening cache-evicting operations.

Fix by using DMABIDIRECTIONAL for both map and unmap, which ensures dmaunmapsingle() invalidates the CPU cache on non-coherent systems. The mailbox buffers are small so there is no performance concern.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Linux Linux kernel

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Configuration

    Change airoha_npu_send_msg() to map the NPU mailbox buffer with DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL instead of DMA_TO_DEVICE, and ensure the corresponding dma_unmap_single() uses DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL as well (so dma_unmap_single invalidates CPU cache on non-cache-coherent architectures and prevents stale npu_stats_addr / response data reads).

    Linux kernel (net: airoha) NPU mailbox buffer DMA mapping DMA direction used for DMA map/unmap = DMA_BIDIRECTIONAL for both map and unmap

Event History

Aug 10, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·12:03 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·12:03 PM
Description
Data Sourced
via NVD·01:20 PM
Description
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-68330?

CVE-2026-68330 has a severity score of 15, indicating a significant risk.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-68330?

To fix CVE-2026-68330, update the Linux kernel to the latest version that includes the patch for this vulnerability.

3

What systems are affected by CVE-2026-68330?

CVE-2026-68330 affects systems running specific versions of the Linux kernel where the Airoha NPU driver is implemented.

4

What is the impact of CVE-2026-68330?

The impact of CVE-2026-68330 can lead to improper handling of DMA buffers, potentially causing data corruption.

5

When was CVE-2026-68330 published?

CVE-2026-68330 was published on August 10, 2026.

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