CVE-2026-98839 vt: selection: Fix unsigned underflow and slab-out-of-bounds read in paste_selection()
A local attacker can trigger an integer underflow in the Linux kernel's virtual terminal selection code, leading to an out-of-bounds read and potential information disclosure or system crash.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-98839?
CVE-2026-98839 is a 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: selection: Fix unsigned underflow and slab-out-of-bounds read in paste_selection()
In paste_selection(), the loop copies min_t(unsigned int, vc_sel.buf_len - pasted,tty->receive_room) bytes per iteration into tty_ldisc_receive_buf() and increments pasted += count.
Because the selection mutex (vc_sel.lock) is dropped inside the loop Whenever the line discipline buffer fills up and paste_selection() sleeps on tty->write_wait, a concurrent TIOCLINUX (TIOCL_SETSEL) ioctl can replace vc_sel.buffer with a shorter selection and reduce vc_sel.buf_len below pasted.
When paste_selection() resumes, vc_sel.buf_len - pasted underflows as an unsigned integer to a large positive value, causing tty_ldisc_receive_buf(ld, vc_sel.buffer + pasted, NULL, count) to read up to 4094 bytes out-of-bounds past the newly allocated vc_sel.buffer.
Fix this by terminating the loop when pasted >= vc_sel.buf_len.
Kernel stack trace (Linux 7.3.0-rc3): ================================================================== BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in n_tty_receive_buf_common+0xa01/0x1650 Read of size 4094 at addr ffff888101c58010 by task kworker/u17:1/65 Workqueue: events_unbound flush_to_ldisc Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x70/0xa0 print_report+0x153/0x4c6 kasan_report+0xf1/0x120 kasan_check_range+0x11c/0x200 __asan_memcpy+0x29/0x70 n_tty_receive_buf_common+0xa01/0x1650 tty_ldisc_receive_buf+0x66/0x110 tty_port_default_receive_buf+0x6b/0xb0 flush_to_ldisc+0x1b4/0x410 process_one_work+0x6ff/0x1110 worker_thread+0x4a8/0xb70 kthread+0x307/0x3e0 ret_from_fork+0x3ed/0x680 </TASK> ==================================================================
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98839?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98839?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-98839 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98839 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-108933, BELL-CVE-2026-98839, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98839, GHSA-rgr5-hhj8-qq6p, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98839.