Out-of-bounds Write Affecting kernel-source package, versions <6.12.0-160000.34.1


Severity

Recommended
0.0
medium
0
10

Based on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server security rating.

Threat Intelligence

EPSS
0.12% (3rd percentile)

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  • Snyk IDSNYK-SLES1600-KERNELSOURCE-17343380
  • published16 Jun 2026
  • disclosed5 Jun 2026

Introduced: 5 Jun 2026

NewCVE-2026-31521  (opens in a new tab)
CWE-787  (opens in a new tab)

How to fix?

Upgrade SLES:16.0.0 kernel-source to version 6.12.0-160000.34.1 or higher.

NVD Description

Note: Versions mentioned in the description apply only to the upstream kernel-source package and not the kernel-source package as distributed by SLES. See How to fix? for SLES:16.0.0 relevant fixed versions and status.

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

module: Fix kernel panic when a symbol st_shndx is out of bounds

The module loader doesn't check for bounds of the ELF section index in simplify_symbols():

   for (i = 1; i &lt; symsec-&gt;sh_size / sizeof(Elf_Sym); i++) {
    const char *name = info-&gt;strtab + sym[i].st_name;

switch (sym[i].st_shndx) {
case SHN_COMMON:

[...]

default:
    /* Divert to percpu allocation if a percpu var. */
    if (sym[i].st_shndx == info-&amp;gt;index.pcpu)
        secbase = (unsigned long)mod_percpu(mod);
    else

/** HERE --> **/ secbase = info->sechdrs[sym[i].st_shndx].sh_addr; sym[i].st_value += secbase; break; } }

A symbol with an out-of-bounds st_shndx value, for example 0xffff (known as SHN_XINDEX or SHN_HIRESERVE), may cause a kernel panic:

BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ... RIP: 0010:simplify_symbols+0x2b2/0x480 ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception

This can happen when module ELF is legitimately using SHN_XINDEX or when it is corrupted.

Add a bounds check in simplify_symbols() to validate that st_shndx is within the valid range before using it.

This issue was discovered due to a bug in llvm-objcopy, see relevant discussion for details [1].

[1] https://lore.kernel.org/linux-modules/20251224005752.201911-1-ihor.solodrai@linux.dev/

CVSS Base Scores

version 3.1