# CVE-2026-98838: vt: skip screen update for DEC alignment test on backgroup consoles

> A local attacker can trigger an out-of-bounds read in the Linux kernel VT subsystem via specific font operations, potentially causing a crash or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109248, BELL-CVE-2026-98838, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98838, GHSA-798g-xwjp-798r, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98838

## What is CVE-2026-98838?

CVE-2026-98838 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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:

vt: skip screen update for DEC alignment test on backgroup consoles

[BUG]
Recently, we encountered a KASAN warning as follows:

BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in fb_pad_aligned_buffer+0x11f/0x140
Read of size 1 at addr ff1100015fd9f6a4 by task tty_fbcon_oob/1239
CPU: 7 UID: 0 PID: 1239 Comm: tty_fbcon_oob Not tainted 7.3.0-rc1 #100 PREEMPT(full)
Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.17.0-4.fc41 04/01/2014
Call Trace:
 <TASK>
 ...
 kasan_report+0xf0/0x120
 fb_pad_aligned_buffer+0x11f/0x140
 ccw_putcs+0x86c/0xa80
 fbcon_putcs+0x338/0x410
 do_update_region+0x21d/0x450
 do_con_write+0x1e0e/0x4880
 con_write+0x13/0x80
 n_tty_write+0x374/0x1010
 file_tty_write.isra.0+0x404/0x7a0
 ...

reproduce:
1) open /dev/tty0, set a KDFONTOP ioctl with op.op = KD_FONT_OP_SET,
op.width = 8 and op.height = 16 (visible VC1)
2) open /dev/tty1, set a KDFONTOP ioctl with op.op = KD_FONT_OP_SET,
op.width = 28 and op.height = 24 (invisible VC2)
3) echo 3 > /sys/devices/virtual/graphics/fbcon/rotate_all
4) write EShash8(esc hash8) to tty1

[CAUSE]
All VCs render to the framebuffer. setfont only modifies the target VC's
font without resizing the framebuffer backing buffer (par->rotated.buf);
the buffer is only resized for the visible VC
(fbcon_do_set_font -> ... -> vc_do_resize -> update_screen). This relies on
the con_should_update() check performed before every update_region().

However, the ESC # 8 path (do_con_trol -> do_update_region) omits the
con_should_update() check. After changing the font size of an invisible VC,
do_update_region() fills using the new font size against a buffer that was
never resized, causing an out-of-bounds access.

[FIX]
Only push the update when the console is visible and not blanked, add
the con_should_update() check in the do_con_trol() like every other call
site of do_update_region() (update_region(), invert_screen(), ...).

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98838?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98838?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98838 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98838 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98838 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98838 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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-2026-98838 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-2026-98838/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98838/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98838
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98838
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98838

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98838/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.