Executive brief
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's I2C driver for DaVinci processors can cause the system to crash (kernel panic) during startup. This occurs when a specific configuration setting is missing, leading the system to perform an invalid mathematical operation. While this primarily affects system availability, it could be used to disrupt operations on embedded devices using this hardware.
Technical details
A division-by-zero vulnerability exists in the 'i2c-davinci' driver within the Linux kernel. The root cause is a unit mismatch where the fallback macro 'DAVINCI_I2C_DEFAULT_BUS_FREQ' was defined in kHz (100) while the probe function expected Hz. When the 'clock-frequency' property is absent from the device tree, the driver divides the fallback value by 1000, resulting in an integer truncation to zero. This zero value is subsequently used as a divisor in clock divider calculations, triggering a kernel panic. The issue is resolved by redefining the default frequency macro to 100,000 Hz. Patches are available in stable kernel branches 6.18.35, 7.0.12, and 7.1+.
Affected products
- Linux Linux 6.14 to 6.18.35, 7.0.12
Timeline
- 2026-05-26: patched: Initial fix committed to kernel source
- 2026-07-24: advisory: CVE published and NVD record created