# CVE-2026-63887: scsi: target: iscsi: Bound iscsi_encode_text_output() appends to rsp_buf

> A heap buffer overflow in the Linux kernel iSCSI target allows remote attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code via crafted login requests.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-63887, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-63887, GHSA-cccw-rxpj-wfqf, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-63887, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-63887

## What is CVE-2026-63887?

CVE-2026-63887 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

scsi: target: iscsi: Bound iscsi_encode_text_output() appends to rsp_buf

iscsi_encode_text_output() concatenates "key=value\0" records into
login->rsp_buf, an 8192-byte kzalloc(MAX_KEY_VALUE_PAIRS) buffer
allocated in iscsit_alloc_login_setup_buffer(). The three sprintf() call
sites in this function (lines 1398, 1411, 1424 in v7.1-rc2) never check
the remaining buffer capacity:

	*length += sprintf(output_buf, "%s=%s", er->key, er->value);
	*length += 1;
	output_buf = textbuf + *length;

The 8192-byte ceiling at iscsi_target_check_login_request() bounds the
*input* Login PDU payload, but a single PDU can carry up to 2048 minimal
four-byte "a=b\0" pairs, each unknown key expanding to a 16-byte
"a=NotUnderstood\0" output record via iscsi_add_notunderstood_response().
2048 * 16 = 32 KiB of output into an 8 KiB buffer, producing a ~24 KiB
heap overrun in the kmalloc-8k slab.

The fix introduces a static iscsi_encode_text_record() helper that uses
snprintf() with a per-call bounds check against the remaining buffer,
and threads a u32 textbuf_size parameter through
iscsi_encode_text_output(). Both call sites in
iscsi_target_handle_csg_zero() (PHASE_SECURITY) and
iscsi_target_handle_csg_one() (PHASE_OPERATIONAL) pass
MAX_KEY_VALUE_PAIRS. On overflow the encoder logs the condition, calls
iscsi_release_extra_responses() to drop queued records, and returns -1;
both caller sites now emit ISCSI_STATUS_CLS_INITIATOR_ERR /
ISCSI_LOGIN_STATUS_INIT_ERR via iscsit_tx_login_rsp() before returning,
so the initiator sees an explicit failed-login response rather than a
silent connection drop. (Prior to this patch only the PHASE_OPERATIONAL
caller did that; the PHASE_SECURITY caller is converted to the same
shape.)

Weakness: CWE-120 (Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input), CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-63887?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-63887?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-63887 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-63887 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-2026-63887 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-63887 is a critical memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-63887 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-2026-63887/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63887/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-63887
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63887
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-63887

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63887/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.