# CVE-2026-53169: accel/ethosu: reject NPU_OP_RESIZE commands from userspace

> Unprivileged users can trigger kernel panics or log spam via the Ethos-U NPU driver if panic_on_warn is enabled.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 25 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53169, GHSA-jhr3-25h7-qp3m, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53169

## What is CVE-2026-53169?

CVE-2026-53169 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

accel/ethosu: reject NPU_OP_RESIZE commands from userspace

NPU_OP_RESIZE is a U85-only command that the driver does not yet
implement. The existing WARN_ON(1) placeholder fires unconditionally
whenever userspace submits this command via DRM_IOCTL_ETHOSU_GEM_CREATE,
causing unbounded kernel log spam.

If panic_on_warn is set the kernel panics, giving any unprivileged user
with access to the DRM device a trivial denial-of-service primitive.

Replace the WARN_ON(1) with an explicit -EINVAL return so the ioctl
rejects the command before it reaches hardware.

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53169?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53169?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53169 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53169 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-53169 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53169 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jun 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53169 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53169/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53169/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53169
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53169
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53169

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53169/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.