Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52 I3C Master Service Master Request IBI handler infinite loop

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. It has been classified as problematic. This vulnerability affects the function Master Request IBI handler of the component I3C Master Service. This manipulation causes infinite loop. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-97515. The attack is restricted to local execution. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the function Master Request IBI handler of the component I3C Master Service. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a infinite loop vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-835. The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i3c: master: svc: Prevent IRQ storm from false SLVSTART on NPCM845 On NPCM845, when a target on the I3C bus gets stuck holding SDA low, the controller reports a false Master Request (MR) in-band interrupt event. The driver handles this by emitting a STOP condition to restore the bus. However, the hardware quirk SVC_I3C_QUIRK_FALSE_SLVSTART indicates that emitting a STOP condition may spuriously set the SLVSTART interrupt status bit. In the Master Request case, this creates a feedback loop: the STOP triggers a new SLVSTART event, the IRQ handler fires again, the controller still reports an MR type, another STOP is emitted, and the cycle repeats indefinitely, resulting in an IRQ storm that can lock up the CPU. Clear the SLVSTART status bit explicitly after emitting the STOP in the Master Request IBI handler when the SVC_I3C_QUIRK_FALSE_SLVSTART quirk is set. This breaks the feedback loop without affecting normal SLVSTART processing, which is already guarded in the top-level IRQ handler by checking that MSTATUS is in SLVREQ state.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-97515 since 09/24/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

Upgrading to version 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch e9b139c4684ed8593a0b779ca02ea05f460b2eec/1effa3adfe53cb2bb28bf5640a676b791d5ab405 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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/

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