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

lib/crypto: chacha: Zeroize permuted_state before it leaves scope

Since the ChaCha permutation is invertible, the local variable
'permuted_state' is sufficient to compute the original 'state', and thus
the key, even after the permutation has been done.

While the kernel is quite inconsistent about zeroizing secrets on the
stack (and some prominent userspace crypto libraries don't bother at all
since it's not guaranteed to work anyway), the kernel does try to do it
as a best practice, especially in cases involving the RNG.

Thus, explicitly zeroize 'permuted_state' before it goes out of scope.

Project Subscriptions

Vendors Products
Linux Kernel Subscribe
Advisories

No advisories yet.

Fixes

Solution

No solution given by the vendor.


Workaround

No workaround given by the vendor.

History

Fri, 08 May 2026 14:00:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: lib/crypto: chacha: Zeroize permuted_state before it leaves scope Since the ChaCha permutation is invertible, the local variable 'permuted_state' is sufficient to compute the original 'state', and thus the key, even after the permutation has been done. While the kernel is quite inconsistent about zeroizing secrets on the stack (and some prominent userspace crypto libraries don't bother at all since it's not guaranteed to work anyway), the kernel does try to do it as a best practice, especially in cases involving the RNG. Thus, explicitly zeroize 'permuted_state' before it goes out of scope.
Title lib/crypto: chacha: Zeroize permuted_state before it leaves scope
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Projects

Sign in to view the affected projects.

cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-05-08T13:31:22.280Z

Reserved: 2026-05-01T14:12:56.002Z

Link: CVE-2026-43336

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-05-08T14:16:43.383

Modified: 2026-05-08T14:16:43.383

Link: CVE-2026-43336

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

No data.

Weaknesses

No weakness.