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Response snapshot Oct 27, 2026, 03:19 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-63888

Linux kernel: scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd() Two latent bugs in the Text-phase handler, both present since the original LIO integration in commit e48354ce078c ("iscsi-target: Add iSCSI fabric support for target v4.

Published Updated

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
9.8 Critical (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.8% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-63888 (opens a new tab)

What happened

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

scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd()

Two latent bugs in the Text-phase handler, both present since the original LIO integration in commit e48354ce078c ("iscsi-target: Add iSCSI fabric support for target v4.1"):

1) DataDigest CRC buffer overread (4 bytes past text_in).

Continue reading

text_in is kzalloc()'d at ALIGN(payload_length, 4). rx_size is then incremented by ISCSI_CRC_LEN to make room for the received DataDigest in the iovec, but the same (now-bumped) rx_size is passed as the buffer length to iscsit_crc_buf():

if (conn->conn_ops->DataDigest) { ... rx_size += ISCSI_CRC_LEN; } ... if (conn->conn_ops->DataDigest) { data_crc = iscsit_crc_buf(text_in, rx_size, 0, NULL);

iscsit_crc_buf() walks rx_size bytes of text_in with crc32c(), so when DataDigest is negotiated it reads 4 bytes past the end of the text_in allocation. KASAN reproduces this directly on the unpatched mainline tree as slab-out-of-bounds in crc32c() called from the Text PDU path.

The OOB bytes feed crc32c() and are then compared against the initiator-supplied checksum, so the value does not flow back to the attacker, but the kernel does read past the buffer on every Text PDU with DataDigest=CRC32C.

Fix by passing the actual padded payload length (ALIGN(payload_length, 4)) that was used for the kzalloc().

2) Stale cmd->text_in_ptr re-free (double-free) on ERL>0 bad DataDigest drop.

On DataDigest mismatch with ErrorRecoveryLevel > 0 the handler silently drops the PDU and lets the initiator plug the CmdSN gap:

kfree(text_in); return 0;

cmd->text_in_ptr still points at the freed buffer. The next Text Request on the same ITT re-enters iscsit_setup_text_cmd(), which unconditionally does

kfree(cmd->text_in_ptr); cmd->text_in_ptr = NULL;

freeing the same pointer a second time. Session teardown via iscsit_release_cmd() has the same shape and hits the same double-free if the connection is dropped before a second Text Request arrives.

On an unmodified mainline tree the bug-1 CRC overread fires first on the initial valid Text Request and perturbs the subsequent state, so #4 was isolated by building a kernel with only the bug-1 hunk of this patch applied plus temporary printk() observability around the three relevant kfree() sites. The observability prints are not part of this patch. On that build, a three-PDU Text Request sequence after login produces two back-to-back splats:

BUG: KASAN: double-free in iscsit_setup_text_cmd+0x?? BUG: KASAN: double-free in iscsit_release_cmd+0x??

showing the same pointer freed in the ERL>0 drop path and again in iscsit_setup_text_cmd() (next Text Request on the same ITT) and once more in iscsit_release_cmd() (session teardown). On distro kernels with CONFIG_SLAB_FREELIST_HARDENED=y (default) the double-free becomes a remote kernel BUG(); on non-hardened kernels it corrupts the slab freelist.

Fix by clearing cmd->text_in_ptr after the kfree() in the ERL>0 drop path. With both hunks applied #4 is directly observable on the stock tree without observability printks; fixing bug-1 alone would mask #4 less, not more, so the hunks are submitted together.

Both fixes are one-liners. The Text PDU state machine is unchanged and the wire protocol is unaffected.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

9.8

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.8%

Scored Percentile 55.6%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-63888 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-63888, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 26). Linux kernel: scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd() (CVE-2026-63888). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-63888

MLA

"Linux kernel: scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd() (CVE-2026-63888)." KEVWire, 26 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-63888.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd() (CVE-2026-63888)." Last modified October 26, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-63888.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd() (Jul 19, 2026).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

scsi: target: iscsi: Fix CRC overread and double-free in iscsit_handle_text_cmd()

Two latent bugs in the Text-phase handler, both present since the
original LIO integration in commit e48354ce078c ("iscsi-target: Add
iSCSI fabric support for target v4.1"):

1) DataDigest CRC buffer overread (4 bytes past text_in).

   text_in is kzalloc()'d at ALIGN(payload_length, 4).  rx_size is then
   incremented by ISCSI_CRC_LEN to make room for the received DataDigest
   in the iovec, but the same (now-bumped) rx_size is passed as the
   buffer length to iscsit_crc_buf():

       if (conn->conn_ops->DataDigest) {
               ...
               rx_size += ISCSI_CRC_LEN;
       }
       ...
       if (conn->conn_ops->DataDigest) {
               data_crc = iscsit_crc_buf(text_in, rx_size, 0, NULL);

   iscsit_crc_buf() walks rx_size bytes of text_in with crc32c(), so
   when DataDigest is negotiated it reads 4 bytes past the end of the
   text_in allocation.  KASAN reproduces this directly on the unpatched
   mainline tree as slab-out-of-bounds in crc32c() called from the Text
   PDU path.  The OOB bytes feed crc32c() and are then compared against
   the initiator-supplied checksum, so the value does not flow back to
   the attacker, but the kernel does read past the buffer on every Text
   PDU with DataDigest=CRC32C.

   Fix by passing the actual padded payload length
   (ALIGN(payload_length, 4)) that was used for the kzalloc().

2) Stale cmd->text_in_ptr re-free (double-free) on ERL>0 bad DataDigest
   drop.

   On DataDigest mismatch with ErrorRecoveryLevel > 0 the handler
   silently drops the PDU and lets the initiator plug the CmdSN gap:

               kfree(text_in);
               return 0;

   cmd->text_in_ptr still points at the freed buffer.  The next Text
   Request on the same ITT re-enters iscsit_setup_text_cmd(), which
   unconditionally does

       kfree(cmd->text_in_ptr);
       cmd->text_in_ptr = NULL;

   freeing the same pointer a second time.  Session teardown via
   iscsit_release_cmd() has the same shape and hits the same double-free
   if the connection is dropped before a seco
CVSS 9.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 26, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63888).
EPSS 0.8% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-63888&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-63888: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63888
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-26T20:05:59.720Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-26T21:35:56.549Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=1500
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-26T19:31:27.927Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-26T21:05:56.246Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=0
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-26T19:01:15.495Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-26T20:30:55.133Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=500
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-63888&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-63888.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 27, 2026, 01:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Analyzed. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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