# CVE-2026-53302: crypto: eip93 - fix hmac setkey algo selection

> A null pointer dereference in the Linux kernel EIP93 crypto driver causes a kernel panic when HMAC key setup fails, leading to denial of service.

- **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:** 26 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 26 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-53302, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53302, GHSA-62v4-cxjv-v35x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53302

## What is CVE-2026-53302?

CVE-2026-53302 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 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:

crypto: eip93 - fix hmac setkey algo selection

eip93_hmac_setkey() allocates a temporary ahash transform for
computing HMAC ipad/opad key material. The allocation uses the
driver-specific cra_driver_name (e.g. "sha256-eip93") but passes
CRYPTO_ALG_ASYNC as the mask, which excludes async algorithms.

Since the EIP93 hash algorithms are the only ones registered
under those driver names and they are inherently async, the
lookup is self-contradictory and always fails with -ENOENT.

When called from the AEAD setkey path, this failure leaves the
SA record partially initialized with zeroed digest fields. A
subsequent crypto operation then dereferences a NULL pointer in
the request context, resulting in a kernel panic:

```
  pc : eip93_aead_handle_result+0xc8c/0x1240 [crypto_hw_eip93]
  lr : eip93_aead_handle_result+0xbec/0x1240 [crypto_hw_eip93]
  sp : ffffffc082feb820
  x29: ffffffc082feb820 x28: ffffff8011043980 x27: 0000000000000000
  x26: 0000000000000000 x25: ffffffc078da0bc8 x24: 0000000091043980
  x23: ffffff8004d59e50 x22: ffffff8004d59410 x21: ffffff8004d593c0
  x20: ffffff8004d593c0 x19: ffffff8004d4f300 x18: 0000000000000000
  x17: 0000000000000000 x16: 0000000000000000 x15: 0000007fda7aa498
  x14: 0000000000000000 x13: 0000000000000000 x12: 0000000000000000
  x11: 0000000000000000 x10: fffffffff8127a80 x9 : 0000000000000000
  x8 : ffffff8004d4f380 x7 : 0000000000000000 x6 : 000000000000003f
  x5 : 0000000000000040 x4 : 0000000000000008 x3 : 0000000000000009
  x2 : 0000000000000008 x1 : 0000000028000003 x0 : ffffff8004d388c0
  Code: 910142b6 f94012e0 f9002aa0 f90006d3 (f9400740)
```

The reported symbol eip93_aead_handle_result+0xc8c is a
resolution artifact from static functions being merged under
the nearest exported symbol. Decoding the faulting sequence:

```
  910142b6  ADD  X22, X21, #0x50
  f94012e0  LDR  X0, [X23, #0x20]
  f9002aa0  STR  X0, [X21, #0x50]
  f90006d3  STR  X19, [X22, #0x8]
  f9400740  LDR  X0, [X26, #0x8]
```

The faulting LDR at [X26, #0x8] is loading ctx->flags
(offset 8 in eip93_hash_ctx), where ctx has been resolved
to NULL from a partially initialized or unreachable
transform context following the failed setkey.

Fix this by dropping the CRYPTO_ALG_ASYNC mask from the
crypto_alloc_ahash() call. The code already handles async
completion correctly via crypto_wait_req(), so there is no
requirement to restrict the lookup to synchronous algorithms.

Note that hashing a single 64-byte block through the hardware
is likely slower than doing it in software due to the DMA
round-trip overhead, but offloading it may still spare CPU
cycles on the slower embedded cores where this IP is found.

[Detailed investigation report of this bug]

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53302?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-53302?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-53302 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53302 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-2026-53302 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-53302 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 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-2026-53302 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-2026-53302/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53302/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-53302
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53302
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-53302

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53302/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.