CVE-2025-39928

i2c: rtl9300: ensure data length is within supported range

Published Oct 1, 2025 CVSS 3.1 · 7.1 High EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

i2c: rtl9300: ensure data length is within supported range

Add an explicit check for the xfer length to 'rtl9300_i2c_config_xfer'
to ensure the data length isn't within the supported range. In
particular a data length of 0 is not supported by the hardware and
causes unintended or destructive behaviour.

This limitation becomes obvious when looking at the register
documentation [1]. 4 bits are reserved for DATA_WIDTH and the value
of these 4 bits is used as N + 1, allowing a data length range of
1 <= len <= 16.

Affected by this is the SMBus Quick Operation which works with a data
length of 0. Passing 0 as the length causes an underflow of the value
due to:

(len - 1) & 0xf

and effectively specifying a transfer length of 16 via the registers.
This causes a 16-byte write operation instead of a Quick Write. For
example, on SFP modules without write-protected EEPROM this soft-bricks
them by overwriting some initial bytes.

For completeness, also add a quirk for the zero length.

[1] https://svanheule.net/realtek/longan/register/i2c_mst1_ctrl2

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

No advisories available
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

cvssV3_1

{'score': 7.1, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-191
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.17:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: rtl9300: ensure data length is within supported range Add an explicit check for the xfer length to 'rtl9300_i2c_config_xfer' to ensure the data length isn't within the supported range. In particular a data length of 0 is not supported by the hardware and causes unintended or destructive behaviour. This limitation becomes obvious when looking at the register documentation [1]. 4 bits are reserved for DATA_WIDTH and the value of these 4 bits is used as N + 1, allowing a data length range of 1 <= len <= 16. Affected by this is the SMBus Quick Operation which works with a data length of 0. Passing 0 as the length causes an underflow of the value due to: (len - 1) & 0xf and effectively specifying a transfer length of 16 via the registers. This causes a 16-byte write operation instead of a Quick Write. For example, on SFP modules without write-protected EEPROM this soft-bricks them by overwriting some initial bytes. For completeness, also add a quirk for the zero length. [1] https://svanheule.net/realtek/longan/register/i2c_mst1_ctrl2
Title i2c: rtl9300: ensure data length is within supported range
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Aug 5, 2026, 12:06 PM
Reserved
Apr 16, 2025, 7:20 AM
Status
Modified
Published
Oct 1, 2025, 8:15 AM
Modified
Oct 19, 2026, 9:10 PM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Oct 1, 2025, 12:00 AM