# CVE-2026-68124: mctp: serial: handle zero-length frames to prevent rx buffer overflow

CVE-2026-68124 is fixed in 17 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68124, released August 11, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-68124
- Priority: High
- CVSS: 9.6 (Important)
- EPSS: 0.0034
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68124

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  mctp: serial: handle zero-length frames to prevent rx buffer overflow  The MCTP serial receive state machine reads a frame length byte in mctp_serial_push_header() case 2 and validates it upper-bound-only:  	if (c > MCTP_SERIAL_FRAME_MTU) { 		dev->rxstate = STATE_ERR; 	} else { 		dev->rxlen = c; 		dev->rxpos = 0; 		dev->rxstate = STATE_DATA; 		... 	}  A length of zero passes this check, so rxlen is set to 0 and the state machine advances to STATE_DATA. In mctp_serial_push() STATE_DATA, the incoming byte is stored and rxpos incremented before the terminator is  	dev->rxbuf[dev->rxpos] = c; 	dev->rxpos++; 	dev->rxstate = STATE_DATA; 	if (dev->rxpos == dev->rxlen) { 		dev->rxpos = 0; 		dev->rxstate = STATE_TRAILER; 	}  With rxlen == 0 the "rxpos == rxlen" terminator can never fire (rxpos is already 1 on the first data byte), so subsequent bytes are written past the end of the fixed 74-byte rxbuf, which is the last member of the netdev private area. Every following data byte is an attacker-controlled 1-byte out-of-bounds heap write, and the overflow continues until a frame (0x7e) or escape byte resets the parser -- effectively unbounded.  Reaching this requires CAP_NET_ADMIN to attach the N_MCTP line discipline and bring the resulting mctpserialN netdev up, after which the bytes arrive via the tty receive path.  Route a zero-length frame straight to STATE_TRAILER instead of STATE_DATA. The trailer/framing bytes are still consumed, and the frame resolves to a zero-length skb that the MCTP core rejects; the parser never enters STATE_DATA with rxlen == 0, so the out-of-bounds write can no longer occur.  KASAN, on a frame of 0x7e 0x01 0x00 followed by data bytes (before this change):    UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in drivers/net/mctp/mctp-serial.c:370   index 74 is out of range for type 'u8 [74]'   BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in mctp_serial_tty_receive_buf   Write of size 1 at addr ... by task kworker/u16:0    mctp_serial_tty_receive_buf    tty_ldisc_receive_buf    flush_to_ldisc   Allocated by task 152:    alloc_netdev_mqs    mctp_serial_open  v2: route zero-length frames to STATE_TRAILER instead of STATE_ERR so     the trailer/framing bytes are still consumed (Jeremy Kerr).  Found by 0sec automated security-research tooling (https://0sec.ai).

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | dtb-aarch64 opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-64kb opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-64kb sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-64kb sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-azure opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-azure sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-azure sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default-base opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1.160000.2.22 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default-base sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1.150700.17.45.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-default-base sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1.160000.2.23 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-docs opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-docs sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-docs sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-kvmsmall opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-kvmsmall sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7-RT_Update_20 sles 15.7 | 1-150700.1.3.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4120-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4120-1.md) | Sep 10, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_21 sles 15.7 | 1-150700.15.3.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-obs-build opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-obs-build sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-obs-qa opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-obs-qa sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-rt opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-source opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-source sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-source sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-syms opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-syms sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-syms sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-zfcpdump opensuse-leap 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [OPENSUSE-SU-2026:21910-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/opensuse-su-2026-21910-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-zfcpdump sles 15.7 | 6.4.0-150700.53.81.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:4254-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-4254-1.md) | Oct 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-zfcpdump sles 16.0 | 6.12.0-160000.38.1 | [SUSE-SU-2026:23902-1](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/suse-su-2026-23902-1.md) | Sep 22, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.1.187-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68124](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-68124.md) | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 6.12.101-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68124](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-68124.md) | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.1.6-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68124](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-68124.md) | Aug 11, 2026 |
| Linux | linux-6.12 Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68124](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-68124.md) | Aug 11, 2026 |

---

Data as of 2026-11-08T06:59:42Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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