Linux Kernel: DMA_map_sg Tracepoint Array Size Cap Prevents Perf Buffer Overflow
CVE-2026-23390 Published on March 25, 2026
tracing/dma: Cap dma_map_sg tracepoint arrays to prevent buffer overflow
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tracing/dma: Cap dma_map_sg tracepoint arrays to prevent buffer overflow
The dma_map_sg tracepoint can trigger a perf buffer overflow when
tracing large scatter-gather lists. With devices like virtio-gpu
creating large DRM buffers, nents can exceed 1000 entries, resulting
in:
phys_addrs: 1000 * 8 bytes = 8,000 bytes
dma_addrs: 1000 * 8 bytes = 8,000 bytes
lengths: 1000 * 4 bytes = 4,000 bytes
Total: ~20,000 bytes
This exceeds PERF_MAX_TRACE_SIZE (8192 bytes), causing:
WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 5497 at kernel/trace/trace_event_perf.c:405
perf buffer not large enough, wanted 24620, have 8192
Cap all three dynamic arrays at 128 entries using min() in the array
size calculation. This ensures arrays are only as large as needed
(up to the cap), avoiding unnecessary memory allocation for small
operations while preventing overflow for large ones.
The tracepoint now records the full nents/ents counts and a truncated
flag so users can see when data has been capped.
Changes in v2:
- Use min(nents, DMA_TRACE_MAX_ENTRIES) for dynamic array sizing
instead of fixed DMA_TRACE_MAX_ENTRIES allocation (feedback from
Steven Rostedt)
- This allocates only what's needed up to the cap, avoiding waste
for small operations
Reviwed-by: Sean Anderson <sean.anderson@linux.dev>
Products Associated with CVE-2026-23390
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Affected Versions
Linux:- Version 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and below 02d209bb018a40dee9eac89e91860253dee9605b is affected.
- Version 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and below f2584f791a10343bdc995ff6ff402db45b95de69 is affected.
- Version 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 and below daafcc0ef0b358d9d622b6e3b7c43767aa3814ee is affected.
- Version 6.12.74, <= 6.12.* is unaffected.
- Version 6.18.13, <= 6.18.* is unaffected.
- Version 6.19, <= * is unaffected.