Linux Kernel Vulnerability in PXA DMA Engine Allocation

CVE-2026-98324

What is CVE-2026-98324?

A flaw in the Linux kernel's handling of DMA engine descriptor allocation has been identified, leading to improper resource management. The function pxad_alloc_desc() was inadvertently modified to double count hardware descriptors due to incorrect handling in the code. Specifically, the transition from kzalloc to kzalloc_flex introduced a counting inconsistency, prompting incorrect increments of descriptor counts. This could cause pxad_free_desc() to erroneously free entries that weren't allocated, resulting in potential instability and unexpected behavior in systems utilizing these descriptors.

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