REDHAT-BUG-2429611: Low severity Linux Kernel vulnerability

Published Jan 14, 2026
·
Updated

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

crypto: afalg - zero initialize memory allocated via sockkmalloc

Several crypto user API contexts and requests allocated with sockkmalloc() were left uninitialized, relying on callers to set fields explicitly. This resulted in the use of uninitialized data in certain error paths or when new fields are added in the future.

The ACVP patches also contain two user-space interface files: algifkpp.c and algifakcipher.c. These too rely on proper initialization of their context structures.

A particular issue has been observed with the newly added 'inflight' variable introduced in afalgctx by commit:

67b164a871af ("crypto: afalg - Disallow multiple in-flight AIO requests")

Because the context is not memset to zero after allocation, the inflight variable has contained garbage values. As a result, afalgallocareq() has incorrectly returned -EBUSY randomly when the garbage value was interpreted as true:

https://github.com/gregkh/linux/blame/master/crypto/afalg.c#L1209

The check directly tests ctx->inflight without explicitly comparing against true/false. Since inflight is only ever set to true or false later, an uninitialized value has triggered -EBUSY failures. Zero-initializing memory allocated with sockkmalloc() ensures inflight and other fields start in a known state, removing random issues caused by uninitialized data.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Linux Kernel

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade Linux kernel crypto af_alg to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Patch 67b164a871af
  2. Upgrade

    Upgrade Linux kernel crypto af_alg to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Patch crypto: af_alg - zero initialize memory allocated via sock_kmalloc
  3. Compensating control

    If you are not able to apply the kernel patch immediately, restart affected workloads/hosts to reduce the likelihood of hitting the random -EBUSY behavior caused by uninitialized ctx fields in af_alg user API contexts/requests.

Event History

Jan 14, 2026
Data Sourced
via Red Hat·04:04 PM
DescriptionSeverityAffected Software
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Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is REDHAT-BUG-2429611?

REDHAT-BUG-2429611 refers to a vulnerability in the Linux kernel related to uninitialized memory in crypto user API contexts allocated via sock_kmalloc.

2

What is the severity of REDHAT-BUG-2429611?

The severity of REDHAT-BUG-2429611 is assessed as low.

3

How do I fix REDHAT-BUG-2429611?

To mitigate REDHAT-BUG-2429611, ensure that you apply the latest updates to the Linux kernel that address this vulnerability.

4

What are the potential risks associated with REDHAT-BUG-2429611?

The risks associated with REDHAT-BUG-2429611 include the possibility of unpredictable behavior or exposure of sensitive data due to uninitialized memory in crypto operations.

5

When was REDHAT-BUG-2429611 published?

REDHAT-BUG-2429611 was published on January 14, 2026.

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