CVE-2026-98262

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's libahci driver. This issue can lead to a Denial of Service (DoS) when initializing storage controllers configured to use 32-bit Direct Memory Access (DMA). Because the driver fails to clear the upper 32-bit memory address registers on hardware that physically supports 64-bit addressing, uninitialized values remain in those registers. Consequently, a local user working with affected storage hardware may trigger device probe failures, rendering the storage controller and attached drives unusable.

This vulnerability is rated Moderate severity for Red Hat Enterprise Linux because exploitation is restricted to systems utilizing specific storage controller hardware and requires local interaction to trigger driver initialization failures. Standard enterprise installations typically deploy well-tested enterprise-grade host bus adapters or virtualized disk interfaces, meaning consumer-grade chipsets that enforce 32-bit addressing while possessing 64-bit capabilities are uncommon in production environments. Even when vulnerable host adapters are present, the defect manifests strictly as an operational failure during controller detection rather than leading to arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.