CVE-2026-97506 crypto: ixp4xx - fix buffer chain unwind on allocation failure
A null-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel ixp4xx crypto driver causes a crash when DMA allocation fails, leading to denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Not stated
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-97506?
CVE-2026-97506 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 Sep 2026.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
crypto: ixp4xx - fix buffer chain unwind on allocation failure
chainup_buffers() builds a linked list of buffer descriptors for a scatterlist. If dma_pool_alloc() fails while constructing the list, the current code sets buf to NULL and later dereferences it unconditionally at the end of the function:
buf->next = NULL; buf->phys_next = 0;
This can lead to a null-pointer dereference on allocation failure.
If the failure happens after part of the descriptor chain has already been allocated and DMA-mapped, the partially constructed chain also needs to be released.
Fix this by terminating the partially constructed chain on allocation failure and letting the callers unwind it via their existing cleanup paths. Also fix ablk_perform() to preserve the hook pointers before checking for failure, so partially built chains can be freed correctly.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97506?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97506?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-97506 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97506 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-104027, BELL-CVE-2026-97506, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97506, GHSA-mh76-mg38-r432, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97506.