CVE-2026-63877
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
serial: dz: Convert to use a platform device
Prevent a crash from happening as the first serial port is initialised:
Console: switching to colour frame buffer device 160x64 tgafb: SFB+ detected, rev=0x02 fb0: Digital ZLX-E1 frame buffer device at 0x1e000000 DECstation DZ serial driver version 1.04 CPU 0 Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address 000000bc, epc == 8048b3a4, ra == 80470a78 Oops[#1]: CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 1 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.19.0-dirty #35 NONE $ 0 : 00000000 1000ac00 00000004 804707ac $ 4 : 00000000 80e20850 80e20858 81000030 $ 8 : 00000000 8072c81c 00000008 fefefeff $12 : 6c616972 00000006 80c5917f 69726420 $16 : 80e20800 00000000 808f8968 80e20800 $20 : 00000000 807f5a90 808b0094 808d3bc8 $24 : 00000018 80479030 $28 : 80c2e000 80c2fd70 00000069 80470a78 Hi : 00000004 Lo : 00000000 epc : 8048b3a4 __dev_fwnode+0x0/0xc ra : 80470a78 serial_base_ctrl_add+0xa0/0x168 Status: 1000ac04 IEp Cause : 30000008 (ExcCode 02) BadVA : 000000bc PrId : 00000220 (R3000) Modules linked in: Process swapper/0 (pid: 1, threadinfo=(ptrval), task=(ptrval), tls=00000000) Stack : 00400044 00400040 8046f4cc 00000000 808a6148 808a0000 808f8968 8086983c 808e0000 8046fc84 1000ac01 00000028 80e20700 802ba3f8 80e20700 80d34a94 80c1b900 80e20700 80e20700 80e20700 80e20700 80444650 00000000 00000000 00000000 807f5a90 808b0094 80447080 00400040 808e0000 80d34a94 808a6148 80d34a94 00000004 80e20700 00000000 8076974c 80469810 80c2fe3c 1000ac01 ... Call Trace: [<8048b3a4>] __dev_fwnode+0x0/0xc [<80470a78>] serial_base_ctrl_add+0xa0/0x168 [<8046fc84>] serial_core_register_port+0x1c8/0x974 [<808c6af0>] dz_init+0x74/0xc8 [<800470e0>] do_one_initcall+0x44/0x2d4 [<808b111c>] kernel_init_freeable+0x258/0x308 [<8072e434>] kernel_init+0x20/0x114 [<80049cd0>] ret_from_kernel_thread+0x14/0x1c
Code: 27bd0018 03e00008 2402ffea <8c8200bc> 03e00008 00000000 27bdffc0 afbe0038 afb30024
---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]---
-- where a pointer is dereferenced that has been derived from a null pointer to the port's parent device.
Since no device is available with legacy probing and it's not anymore a preferable way to discover devices anyway, switch the driver to using a platform device and use it as the port's parent device. Update resource handling accordingly and only request the actual span of addresses used within the slot, which will have had its resource already requested by generic platform device code.
Use platform_driver_probe() not just because the DZ device is fixed with solder on board and not straightforward to remove, but foremost because the associated TTY's major device number is the same as used by the zs driver and the first driver to claim it will prevent the other one from using it. Either one DZ device or some SCC devices will be present in a given system but never both at a time, and therefore we want the major device number to be claimed by the first driver to actually successfully bind to its device and platform_driver_probe() is a way to fulfil that.
An unfortunate consequence of the switch to a platform device is we now hand the console over from the bootconsole much later in the bootstrap. The firmware console handler appears good enough though to work so late and in particular with interrupts enabled.
Conversely only starting the console port so late lets the reset code fully utilise our delay handlers, so switch from udelay() to fsleep() for transmitter draining so as to avoid busy-waiting for an excessive amount of time.
No affected software listed.
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ff0401ffddaccc85f758c8259912d686d052b31
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c9fb95c8d6430d11dbb7b44fbe23222585cda86
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d7a49d60b8fda66da60e240fd7315232fa1754f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f59646229490a93cda950017ad4bdfbfe770a1d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c9e78361fe92fb64662fc3c8f34e2cdbb8c25bc6
Deep Security Visibility Without the Complexity
SynScan provides clear, real-time security insights so you can monitor your attack surface, spot risks early, and act fast—without extra complexity.
- No setup fees
- 5-min deployment
- Cancel anytime
Frequently Asked Questions
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.