# CVE-2026-72134: spi: imx: reconfigure for PIO when DMA cannot be started

> A Linux kernel SPI driver bug causes data corruption and TPM failure when DMA initialization fails, requiring a patch to correctly reconfigure for PIO mode.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72134, GHSA-pv8g-5qg3-q63w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72134

## What is CVE-2026-72134?

CVE-2026-72134 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

spi: imx: reconfigure for PIO when DMA cannot be started

When spi_imx_can_dma() selects DMA, the ECSPI is configured for DMA:
spi_imx_setupxfer() sets CTRL.SMC and clears dynamic_burst, and
spi_imx_dma_transfer() programs the dynamic-burst BURST_LENGTH and the
SDMA watermarks.

If the DMA descriptor cannot be prepared (dmaengine_prep_slave_single()
returns NULL), the transfer is failed with SPI_TRANS_FAIL_NO_START and
falls back to PIO. The dynamic-burst DMA path uses its own bounce
buffers instead of the SPI core's mapping, so xfer->{tx,rx}_sg_mapped
are not set and the core's DMA->PIO retry is skipped; the driver falls
back to PIO internally. But none of the DMA-mode configuration is
undone, so the PIO transfer runs with CTRL.SMC set, the wrong burst
length and dynamic_burst cleared, and the transferred data is corrupted.

This is easily hit on i.MX8MP boards that describe ECSPI DMA in the
device tree but run SDMA on ROM firmware (no external sdma-imx7d.bin):
every ECSPI DMA prepare fails. An Infineon SLB9670 TPM on ECSPI1 then
returns shifted TPM2_GetCapability data, is flagged "field failure
mode", /dev/tpmrm0 is never created.

Set controller->fallback before re-running spi_imx_setupxfer() so the
ECSPI is reconfigured exactly like a normal PIO transfer. With
controller->fallback set, spi_imx_setupxfer() sees spi_imx_can_dma()
return false, so it clears spi_imx->usedma and reprograms the controller
(clears CTRL.SMC, restores dynamic_burst and the PIO burst length). No
explicit spi_imx->usedma = false is needed: setupxfer() already updates
it from the can_dma() result.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72134?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72134?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72134 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72134 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72134 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72134 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-72134 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-72134/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72134/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72134
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72134
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72134

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72134/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.