CVE-2026-53196: linux kernel vulnerability

What is known

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: USB: serial: io_ti: fix heap overflow in get_manuf_info() get_manuf_info() reads le16_to_cpu(rom_desc->Size) bytes from the device I2C EEPROM into a buffer allocated with kmalloc_obj(), which is sizeof(struct edge_ti_manuf_descriptor) = 10 bytes. The Size field comes from the device and is only validated (in check_i2c_image()) to make sure the descriptor fits within TI_MAX_I2C_SIZE (16384 bytes), not against the destination buffer size. A malicious USB device can therefore set Size to any value up to 16377, causing a heap overflow of up to 16367 bytes when plugged into a host running this driver. valid_csum() is called after read_rom() and also iterates buffer[0..Size-1], compounding the out-of-bounds access. Fix by rejecting descriptors with unexpected length before calling read_rom(). [ johan: amend commit message; also check for short descriptors ]

Business impact

Successful exploitation of CVE-2026-53196, a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.8) 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.

Sources

• NVD
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