CVE-2026-23085: linux kernel vulnerability
CVE-2026-23085: medium vulnerability affecting linux kernel. Check CVSS, KEV status, business impact and recommended administrator actions.
- CVSS
- 5.5 MEDIUM
- EPSS
- 2.44%
- Known exploited
- not in KEV
- Product
- linux kernel
What is known
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: irqchip/gic-v3-its: Avoid truncating memory addresses On 32-bit machines with CONFIG_ARM_LPAE, it is possible for lowmem allocations to be backed by addresses physical memory above the 32-bit address limit, as found while experimenting with larger VMSPLIT configurations. This caused the qemu virt model to crash in the GICv3 driver, which allocates the 'itt' object using GFP_KERNEL. Since all memory below the 4GB physical address limit is in ZONE_DMA in this configuration, kmalloc() defaults to higher addresses for ZONE_NORMAL, and the ITS driver stores the physical address in a 32-bit 'unsigned long' variable. Change the itt_addr variable to the correct phys_addr_t type instead, along with all other variables in this driver that hold a physical address. The gicv5 driver correctly uses u64 variables, while all other irqchip drivers don't call virt_to_phys or similar interfaces. It's expected that other device drivers have similar issues, but fixing this one is sufficient for booting a virtio based guest.
Business impact
Successful exploitation of CVE-2026-23085, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 5.5) affecting linux kernel, may affect the confidentiality, integrity or availability of the vulnerable environment. The exact impact depends on the installed version, exposed interfaces and deployment configuration.
Recommended administrator action
Confirm whether linux kernel is present and compare installed versions with the vendor advisory and NVD record. Apply the vendor patch or documented mitigation; until remediation is complete, reduce exposure of affected interfaces, review relevant logs and monitor for indicators of exploitation. DataHouse can support version verification, managed patching, network exposure reduction, log review and backup validation for dedicated, cloud and colocated environments.