UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89962: Low severity ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: powerpc/kexecfile: Prevent kexec range truncation Sashiko AI review pointed out the following issue. The mergememoryranges() function incorrectly handles overlapping memory ranges when merging them. Although sortmemoryranges() sorts all ranges by their start address in ascending order beforehand, the merge logic remains defective in two ways: 1. It compares the current range's start against the previous element (i-1) instead of the running target index (idx) 2. It unconditionally overwrites 'ranges[idx].end' with 'ranges[i].end'. This logic flaw leads to critical memory truncation when a larger memory range completely subsumes subsequent smaller ranges. For example, consider a sorted input array with three ranges: Range A (idx=0): [0x1000 - 0x9000] Range B (i=1): [0x2000 - 0x5000] (completely inside Range A) Range C (i=2): [0x6000 - 0x8000] (completely inside Range A) 1. When i=1 (Range B): ranges[1].start (0x2000) <= ranges[0].end + 1 (0x9001) is TRUE. The code executes: ranges[0].end = ranges[1].end, which erroneously shrinks Range A's end from 0x9000 down to 0x5000. 2. When i=2 (Range C): ranges[2].start (0x6000) <= ranges[1].end + 1 (0x5001) is FALSE. The code falls into the else block, creating a broken new range. As a result, valid memory fragments [0x5001 - 0x5fff] and [0x8001 - 0x9000] are completely lost from the kexec exclude lists, potentially allowing the crash kernel to overwrite active memory, causing data corruption or crashes. Fix this by ensuring the start of the current range is compared against the end of the active merged range (idx), and use max() to safely prevent the outer boundary from being truncated.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-hwe-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscv-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linuxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-awsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.17 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.18 - Upgrade
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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
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ubuntu/linux-oracleto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1015.16 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscvto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-42.42.1 - Compensating control
In the Linux kernel powerpc/kexec_file __merge_memory_ranges() function, compare each current range's start against ranges[idx].end rather than ranges[i-1].end, and update the merged range end with max(ranges[idx].end, ranges[i].end) so an enclosing range is not truncated.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Ubuntu kernel packages are listed as affected?
The listed software includes ubuntu/linux-realtime, ubuntu/linux-azure, ubuntu/linux-gcp, ubuntu/linux-azure-fde, ubuntu/linux-gke, ubuntu/linux-riscv, ubuntu/linux-gkeop, and ubuntu/linux.
What condition triggers the incorrect range merge behavior?
The issue occurs when sorted memory ranges overlap and a larger range completely contains later smaller ranges. The merge logic can replace the larger range's end address with an inner range's smaller end address, truncating the resulting memory range.
What functionality is involved?
The vulnerable logic is in the PowerPC kexec_file memory-range merging path. Systems not using this PowerPC-specific functionality are not identified by the provided data as exercising the affected code path.