UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98860: Low severity ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge vulnerability
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: bpf: cast size to ssizet when checking hidbpfhwrequest As reported by Sashiko: If a transport driver encounters a hardware error and returns a negative error code such as -EPIPE, ret is implicitly promoted to sizet when compared against size. This causes the negative error code to evaluate as a large positive number, making the (ret > size) condition true. This silently converts the hardware error into a success return value and copies the unmodified buffer back, which could leave BPF programs operating on uninitialized or stale data. Fix this by casting size into ssizet to return the actual negative error code.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
ubuntu/linux-aws-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azure-fde-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcp-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oracle-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-riscv-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-43.43.1~24.04.2 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linuxto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-43.43 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-awsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.18 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azureto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1020.21 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-azure-fdeto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1019.19 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gcpto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.19 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-gketo a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1010.11 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-ibmto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1018.18 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oem-7.0to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1018.18 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-oracleto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.18 - Upgrade
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ubuntu/linux-realtimeto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 7.0.0-43.43.1 - Compensating control
Cast size to ssize_t when checking the return value of hid_bpf_hw_request, so negative hardware error codes such as -EPIPE are compared correctly and returned instead of being converted into a success value.
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What condition is required for this issue to occur?
A HID transport driver must encounter a hardware error and return a negative error code, such as -EPIPE, while processing hid_bpf_hw_request. The incorrect signed-to-unsigned comparison can then treat that error as a successful return.
What is the practical impact of the incorrect return handling?
The hardware error can be silently converted into success and the unmodified buffer can be copied back. BPF programs may then operate on uninitialized or stale data instead of receiving the actual error.
Which Ubuntu kernel packages are identified as affected?
The listed packages are ubuntu/linux-riscv, ubuntu/linux-realtime, ubuntu/linux-hwe-edge, ubuntu/linux-azure, ubuntu/linux-gcp, ubuntu/linux-azure-fde, ubuntu/linux-gke, and ubuntu/linux-aws-5.0.