Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
comedi: Fix use of uninitialized memory in do_insn_ioctl() and do_insnlist_ioctl()
syzbot reports a KMSAN kernel-infoleak in `do_insn_ioctl()`. A kernel buffer is allocated to hold `insn->n` samples (each of which is an `unsigned int`). For some instruction types, `insn->n` samples are copied back to user-space, unless an error code is being returned. The problem is that not all the instruction handlers that need to return data to userspace fill in the whole `insn->n` samples, so that there is an information leak. There is a similar syzbot report for `do_insnlist_ioctl()`, although it does not have a reproducer for it at the time of writing.
One culprit is `insn_rw_emulate_bits()` which is used as the handler for `INSN_READ` or `INSN_WRITE` instructions for subdevices that do not have a specific handler for that instruction, but do have an `INSN_BITS` handler. For `INSN_READ` it only fills in at most 1 sample, so if `insn->n` is greater than 1, the remaining `insn->n - 1` samples copied to userspace will be uninitialized kernel data.
Another culprit is `vm80xx_ai_insn_read()` in the "vm80xx" driver. It never returns an error, even if it fails to fill the buffer.
Fix it in `do_insn_ioctl()` and `do_insnlist_ioctl()` by making sure that uninitialized parts of the allocated buffer are zeroed before handling each instruction.
Thanks to Arnaud Lecomte for their fix to `do_insn_ioctl()`. That fix replaced the call to `kmalloc_array()` with `kcalloc()`, but it is not always necessary to clear the whole buffer.
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:HWeakness enumeration
Affected software
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | >= ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4, < 868a1b68dcd9f2805bb86aa64862402f785d8c4a; >= ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4, < ff4a7c18799c7fe999fa56c5cf276e13866b8c1a; >= ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4, < d84f6e77ebe3359394df32ecd97e0d76a25283dc; >= ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4, < f3b0c9ec54736f3b8118f93a473d22e11ee65743; >= ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4, < aecf0d557ddd95ce68193a5ee1dc4c87415ff08a; >= ed9eccbe8970f6eedc1b978c157caf1251a896d4, < 3cd212e895ca2d58963fdc6422502b10dd3966bb |
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.29 |
| Siemens | SIMATIC CN 4100 | < V5.0 |
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3cd212e895ca2d58963fdc6422502b10dd3966bbPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/868a1b68dcd9f2805bb86aa64862402f785d8c4aPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aecf0d557ddd95ce68193a5ee1dc4c87415ff08aPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d84f6e77ebe3359394df32ecd97e0d76a25283dcPatch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f3b0c9ec54736f3b8118f93a473d22e11ee65743Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff4a7c18799c7fe999fa56c5cf276e13866b8c1aPatch
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2025/10/msg00008.htmlThird Party Advisory
- https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-032379.html
Timeline
- Published
- Sep 5, 2025
- Last modified
- Oct 19, 2026
- NVD status
- Modified