Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52 Serial 8250 resource consumption

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5.3	$0-$5k	0.32-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52. Affected is an unknown function of the component Serial 8250. This manipulation causes resource consumption. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-97481. The attack can only be executed locally. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is some unknown processing of the component Serial 8250. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a resource consumption vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-400. The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource, thereby enabling an actor to influence the amount of resources consumed, eventually leading to the exhaustion of available resources. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250: fix possible ISR soft lockup There are rare cases in which the host gets stuck in the ISR because it is flooded with messages during the startup phase. The reason for the soft lockup in the ISR is the missing FIFO error IRQ (FIFOE) handling. Not handling it and reporting IRQ_HANDLED triggers the IRQ immediately again. Fix this by adding a check for the FIFOE status and clearing the FIFO if no data is ready (DR). This behavior was observed on an AM62L device which uses the OMAP 8250 driver. Fix it for all 8250 drivers, since the OMAP driver's special IRQ setup handling may trigger this behavior more frequently, but it is not ensured that other 8250 drivers aren't affected.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-97481 since 09/24/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. The technical details are unknown and an exploit is not publicly available.

Upgrading to version 6.12.111 or 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 2881b2e6da02daea1eb8254247ba8fd20c9d3348/4295c58990b7a84e8349a2226db692e252825b60/0c6bf45e5a345cc3b9ffbeaf9083ecac3c2293eb is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.110
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
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CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.3

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Resource consumption
CWE: CWE-400 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.12.111/6.18.53
Patch: 2881b2e6da02daea1eb8254247ba8fd20c9d3348/4295c58990b7a84e8349a2226db692e252825b60/0c6bf45e5a345cc3b9ffbeaf9083ecac3c2293eb

Timelineinfo

09/24/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/24/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/24/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/24/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97481 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97481
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-409639

Entryinfo

Created: 09/24/2026 19:50
Changes: 09/24/2026 19:50 (58)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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