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Medium5.5Red Hat Linux

Medium [CVE-2026-53402] fix out-of-bounds read in err_out of fbcon_do_set_font

This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-53402 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat package: kernel-rt.

CVE-2026-53402 Published Jul 19, 2026Updated by vendor Jul 19, 2026
Affected products & platforms
Red Hat LinuxLinux Kernel
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Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: fbcon: fix out-of-bounds read in err_out of fbcon_do_set_font() When fbcon_do_set_font() fails (e.g., due to a memory allocation failure inside vc_resize() under heavy memory pressure), it jumps to the `err_out` label to roll back the console state.

However, the current rollback logic forgets to restore the `hi_font` state, leading to a severe state machine corruption. Earlier in the function, `set_vc_hi_font()` might be called to change `vc->vc_hi_font_mask` and mutate the screen buffer.

If `vc_resize()` subsequently fails, the `err_out` path restores `vc_font.charcount` but entirely skips rolling back the `vc_hi_font_mask` and the screen buffer. This mismatch leaves the terminal in a desynchronized state.

Because `vc_hi_font_mask` remains set, the VT subsystem will still accept character indices greater than 255 from userspace and write them to the screen buffer.

Subsequent rendering calls (e.g., `fbcon_putcs()`) will then use these inflated indices to access the reverted, 256-character font array, leading to a deterministic out-of-bounds read and potential kernel memory disclosure. Fix this by adding the missing rollback logic for the `hi_font` mask and screen buffer in the error path.

Affected versions

No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 7 days ago·verify at source

Fixed versions

No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 7 days ago·verify at source

Mitigation

The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 7 days ago·verify at source

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