UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89444: Medium severity ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: platform/x86: dell-wmi-sysman: Don't hex dump attribute security buffer setattribute() populates the security area of the BIOS attribute request buffer with the current admin password via populatesecuritybuffer(), then dumps the whole request buffer with printhexdumpbytes(). This can expose the plaintext admin password in the kernel log. The same issue was fixed for the password attribute path by commit d1a196e0a6dc ("platform/x86: dell-wmi-sysman: Don't hex dump plaintext password data"). Remove the remaining dump from the BIOS attribute path.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-aws-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1119.126~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azure-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1125.134~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1124.133~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcp-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1120.130~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-hwe-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-202.212~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-ibm-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1113.117~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-intel-iotg-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1114.120~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-lowlatency-hwe-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-197.207~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1070.72~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oracle-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1116.122~20.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscv-5.15to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1113.117~20.04.2 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linuxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-202.212 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-awsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1119.126 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azureto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1125.134 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azure-fdeto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1124.133 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1120.130 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gketo a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1115.121 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gkeopto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1102.110 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-ibmto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1113.117 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-intel-iotgto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1114.120 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-kvmto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1111.116 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-lowlatencyto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-197.207 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-nvidiato a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1114.115 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegrato a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1070.72 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-nvidia-tegra-igxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1059.59 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oracleto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1116.122 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-bluefieldto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1103.105 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-intel-iot-realtimeto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1111.115 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-realtimeto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1118.127 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-aws-fipsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1119.126+fips1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azure-fipsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1125.134+fips1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-fipsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-202.212+fips1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcp-fipsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 5.15.0-1120.130+fips1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-hwe-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-riscv-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linuxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-awsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.17 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-gcpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.18 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-ibmto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oem-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-oracleto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1015.16 - Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-riscvto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1 - Configuration
Remove the remaining request-buffer hex dump from the BIOS attribute path so the plaintext admin password is not exposed in the kernel log.
Linux kernel platform/x86 dell-wmi-sysman BIOS attribute path print_hex_dump_bytes() = disabled
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is exposed to this issue?
Systems using the affected Ubuntu kernel packages are exposed when the dell-wmi-sysman driver handles a BIOS attribute update that populates the request security area with the current administrator password. The affected package list includes linux, linux-realtime, linux-azure, linux-gcp, linux-azure-fde, linux-gke, linux-riscv, and linux-gkeop.
What could an attacker obtain if this is exploited?
The current BIOS administrator password may be written in plaintext to the kernel log. An attacker would need access to those kernel logs to recover the exposed password.
How can I determine whether a system may already be affected?
Review kernel logs for request-buffer hex dumps produced during BIOS attribute operations through dell-wmi-sysman. Such dumps may contain plaintext administrator-password data in the security portion of the request buffer.
What is the remediation?
Update to an Ubuntu kernel containing the fix that removes the remaining request-buffer hex dump from the BIOS attribute path. If updating cannot happen immediately, restrict access to kernel logs and treat the BIOS administrator password as potentially exposed if relevant BIOS attribute operations were performed.