CVE-2026-89962 — powerpc/kexec_file: Prevent kexec range truncation

Affected: Linux

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

powerpc/kexec_file: Prevent kexec range truncation

Sashiko AI review pointed out the following issue.

The __merge_memory_ranges() function incorrectly handles overlapping memory ranges when merging them. Although sort_memory_ranges() sorts all ranges by their start address in ascending order beforehand, the merge logic remains defective in two ways:

1. It compares the current range's start against the previous element (i-1) instead of the running target index (idx)

2. It unconditionally overwrites 'ranges[idx].end' with 'ranges[i].end'.

This logic flaw leads to critical memory truncation when a larger memory range completely subsumes subsequent smaller ranges.

For example, consider a sorted input array with three ranges: Range A (idx=0): [0x1000 - 0x9000] Range B (i=1): [0x2000 - 0x5000] (completely inside Range A) Range C (i=2): [0x6000 - 0x8000] (completely inside Range A)

1. When i=1 (Range B): ranges[1].start (0x2000) <= ranges[0].end + 1 (0x9001) is TRUE. The code executes: ranges[0].end = ranges[1].end, which erroneously shrinks Range A's end from 0x9000 down to 0x5000.

2. When i=2 (Range C): ranges[2].start (0x6000) <= ranges[1].end + 1 (0x5001) is FALSE. The code falls into the else block, creating a broken new range.

As a result, valid memory fragments [0x5001 - 0x5fff] and [0x8001 - 0x9000] are completely lost from the kexec exclude lists, potentially allowing…

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CVE-2026-89962 — powerpc/kexec_file: Prevent kexec range truncation