[CVE-2026-80712][MODERATE 7.0] spi: spi-qpic-snand: write the feature value before executing SET_FEATURE

[CVE-2026-80712][MODERATE 7.0] spi: spi-qpic-snand: write the feature value before executing SET_FEATURE

[AL-KERNEL]

CVE: CVE-2026-80712
Priority: MODERATE 7.0
AL-KERNEL base severity: MODERATE
KPANIC flag: NO
Patch: spi: spi-qpic-snand: write the feature value before executing SET_FEATURE
Commit: 581e5166f0780103dc91c0d8ebc801f9af4824b0
Upstream patch: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=581e5166f0780103dc91c0d8ebc801f9af4824b0
Original CVE announcement: https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-80712
Analysis date: Fri, 28 Aug 2026 06:11:11 -0400
ActionableScore: 5
ActionableScore lower bound: 3
Actionable bucket: Actionable Moderate at minimum
Manual review required: YES

Summary:
No one-sentence report phrase was found.

======================================================================
ABOUT THIS REPORT
======================================================================

The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-80712 is available here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-80712

The original announcement does not normally provide a security severity
estimate, CVSS assessment, or enough information to determine whether the
reported kernel bug represents a practically relevant security issue.

This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin. It combines
an autonomous classifier with LLM-assisted technical analysis and a
separate ActionableScore mechanism.

The purpose of this report is to prioritize Linux kernel CVEs before
manual review, identify cases that require prompt investigation, and
support automatic closure of issues that are unlikely to have meaningful
security impact.

Published priority for this report: MODERATE 7.0
Manual review required: YES

A detailed explanation of the methodology and priority rules is included
at the end of this message.

======================================================================
AL-KERNEL CLASSIFICATION RESULT
======================================================================

CVE-2026-80712	MODERATE	CHECK WITH IMPACT FROM ORIG NN LOW	Maybe valid. Check manually. Hints by AL-KERNEL: The best (paranoid) CVSS is 'AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H';CWE-696;CWE-125;CWE-703;Other CVSS 'AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H';BEST CVSS score: '6.6';DESCR 'A logic error in the Qualcomm QPIC SPI NAND driver can execute SPINAND_SET_FEATURE before the intended feature value is written to NAND_FLASH_FEATURES. As a result, the chip may be programmed with stale register contents from a previous operation and feature writes can be applied one operation late. On systems using SPI NAND OTP support this can leave CFG_OTP_ENABLE set, causing normal array reads to return the OTP area and writes to fail with EIO. For the CVSS the PR:L is used in the paranoid score when a local user or service has delegated access to MTD or flash management operations, while typical systems restrict this to administrators. The issue is not network reachable. Impact is mainly persistent denial of service of the flash device and possible low integrity impact from unintended feature state changes. The related 4 byte read from a one byte buffer is an OOB read, but the patch context does not show a reliable information leak or arbitrary write primitive.';YES REQUIRES MANUAL CHECK; ,and ActionableScore result is Actionable Moderate at minimum (with actual score 4)  SKIP CVE-2026-80712 UNKNOWN SKIP No affected files built, so skip this CVE NO  - - unknown 	MAYBE	INIT HARDWARE  INCREASED_FROM_LOW_BASED_ON_REQUIREMANUALCHECK DECREASED_TO_MODERATEREG_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCORELESSTHAN5	-	-	checked

======================================================================
ACTIONABLESCORE ANALYSIS
======================================================================

ActionableScore=5
ActionableScoreLower=3

1. ActionableScore
* Conservative score: 3
* Paranoid score: 5
* Final recommended bucket: **Actionable Moderate at minimum**::

2. Signal breakdown
* Reliable persistent DoS: +1. The bug can leave SPI NAND stuck in OTP mode, making flash reads return OTP data and writes fail with EIO.
* Availability impact beyond immediate crash: +1. The described impact can make the flash unusable and the device unbootable.
* Important filesystem/storage path: +1. This affects MTD backed SPI NAND storage used for persistent system data and boot media.
* Weak OOB read concern: +1 in paranoid scoring. The old code dereferenced a 4 byte value from a possible 1 byte buffer, but no disclosure path is shown.
* Integrity impact plausible: +1 in paranoid scoring. Wrong SET_FEATURE ordering can apply stale feature values and change NAND state unexpectedly.
* Requires admin or privileged flash management in typical deployments: -2 conservative. Direct MTD or flash management is normally restricted.
* Hardware specific condition: -1. The practical failure depends on Qualcomm QPIC SPI NAND plus affected SPI NAND OTP behavior.

3. Reachability analysis
Typical triggering is local and privileged, or automatic during MTD registration on affected hardware. A normal remote network attacker does not reach this path directly. A less privileged local trigger is only plausible if a product delegates MTD, flash, or firmware management operations to a service or reduced privilege account. Containers usually do not help unless they are given direct access to MTD or equivalent device management interfaces. The issue is configuration and hardware dependent, but the observed impact on affected devices is strong because persistent flash access can become unusable.

4. Severity interpretation
This is not a strong memory corruption or LPE case. The main issue is a device state ordering bug causing persistent storage availability failure. The 4 byte read from a possible 1 byte buffer is worth manual review, but the patch does not show attacker controlled disclosure, arbitrary write, object lifetime corruption, or privilege escalation. Conservatively it is a borderline Moderate storage DoS. Paranoid triage reaches Actionable Moderate because the impact is persistent, storage related, and includes a small OOB read fix in a privileged driver path.

5. One-sentence report phrase
A Qualcomm QPIC SPI NAND SET_FEATURE ordering bug can apply stale feature values and leave affected flash in OTP mode, causing persistent storage DoS and possible low integrity impact, with typical triggering requiring privileged local flash management or affected boot time MTD registration.

6. Manual review recommendation
MANUAL CHECK REQUIRED. YES REQUIRES MANUAL CHECK.
Reason: persistent device unbootability plus the adjacent OOB read fix make this worth manual review, even though there is no demonstrated LPE or remote attack path.

======================================================================
UPSTREAM PATCH SUMMARY
======================================================================

Patch: spi: spi-qpic-snand: write the feature value before executing SET_FEATURE
Commit: 581e5166f0780103dc91c0d8ebc801f9af4824b0
Upstream URL: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=581e5166f0780103dc91c0d8ebc801f9af4824b0

Commit description:

qcom_spi_send_cmdaddr() programs NAND_FLASH_CMD/NAND_EXEC_CMD and submits
the descriptors, which makes the controller execute the command
immediately. For SPINAND_SET_FEATURE the value to be written is only
placed into NAND_FLASH_FEATURES afterwards, by qcom_spi_io_op(), in a
second submission - so the chip is programmed with whatever that register
happened to hold from a previous operation, and the intended value is only
applied by the *next* SET_FEATURE.

Measured on a TP-Link Archer AX55 v1 (IPQ5018, ESMT F50L1G41LB): writing
0x40 to the configuration register (0xb0) leaves the chip at 0x00, and the
subsequent write of 0x00 leaves it at 0x40 - every write lands one
operation late.

This stayed unnoticed until v6.18 added SPI-NAND OTP support together
with OTP entries for ESMT chips. spinand_otp_rw() enables OTP mode,
reads, and disables it again, and mtd_otp_nvmem_add() does this during
MTD registration. With the off-by-one, the "disable" write actually
applies the previously requested value, so CFG_OTP_ENABLE ends up set:
the chip stays in OTP mode, every subsequent array read returns the OTP
area instead of the array (UBI reports an empty device) and all writes
fail with -EIO because the OTP area is write protected. On this board
that makes the whole flash unusable and the device unbootable.

Write the feature value into NAND_FLASH_FEATURES as part of the same
transaction, before NAND_EXEC_CMD. While at it, copy only the bytes the
operation actually carries - the previous code dereferenced a 4-byte
pointer on a one-byte buffer (spinand->scratchbuf).

With this patch the flash contents read back bit-identical to a
known-good dump of the same board taken under the vendor firmware
(md5-verified across partitions), and writes work.

Fixes: 7304d19 ("spi: spi-qpic: add driver for QCOM SPI NAND flash Interface")
Cc: stable@vger.kernel.org
Signed-off-by: Stanislaw Pal <kuncy7@gmail.com>
Reviewed-by: Md Sadre Alam <md.alam@oss.qualcomm.com>
Link: https://patch.msgid.link/20260727163216.109938-1-kuncy7@gmail.com
Signed-off-by: Mark Brown <broonie@kernel.org>
Signed-off-by: Greg Kroah-Hartman <gregkh@linuxfoundation.org>

Changed files:
  drivers/spi/spi-qpic-snand.c

Diff excerpt:

Not included in this email. See the upstream URL for the full patch.

Full patch:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git/commit/?id=581e5166f0780103dc91c0d8ebc801f9af4824b0

======================================================================
DETAILED REPORT METHODOLOGY
======================================================================

The original Linux kernel CVE announcement for CVE-2026-80712 can be found here:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/?q=CVE-2026-80712

The original CVE announcement normally does not include a security-level
estimate. In particular, it may not contain a CVSS assessment, an impact
level, or enough information to determine whether the reported bug is a
practically relevant security issue. One purpose of this parallel CVE list
is to provide that missing technical and prioritization information.

The original goal of the AL-KERNEL project was to prioritize Linux kernel
CVE analysis automatically before manual review. The system can also help
identify non-security issues that may be suitable for automatic closure.

This report was generated by AL-KERNEL, an AI-assisted Linux kernel
vulnerability analysis system developed by Alexander Larkin.

The first analysis stage combines an autonomous classifier with additional
LLM-based analysis. The autonomous classifier runs locally on a CPU and is
based on a backpropagation neural network. Together, these mechanisms
produce a technical vulnerability description, identify likely weakness
types, estimate CVSS severity, and provide input for ActionableScore.

Two CVSS estimates are retained because incomplete kernel vulnerability
information often permits more than one defensible interpretation:

  Conservative CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
  The Best / paranoid CVSS vector: AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H
  The Best / paranoid CVSS score: 6.6

The conservative vector represents a lower-impact interpretation.
The Best/paranoid vector intentionally represents a plausible upper-bound
interpretation and should not automatically be treated as demonstrated
real-world impact.

CVSS may also need to be adjusted for a particular Linux deployment,
because actual reachability, privileges, enabled kernel configuration,
hardware, namespaces, exposed device nodes, and other environmental
conditions can differ significantly between systems.

A separate ActionableScore mechanism evaluates practical remediation
urgency. Its analysis may include reachability, attack prerequisites,
subsystem exposure, memory-corruption characteristics, denial-of-service
reliability, and possible confidentiality, integrity, or
privilege-escalation impact.

  Conservative ActionableScore: 3
  Paranoid ActionableScore: 5

The final base severity is taken directly from the second tab-separated
field of the AL-KERNEL classification result. ActionableScore does not
replace or independently override that final AL-KERNEL decision, and
if ActionableScore adjusted impact level of ALKERNEL, then you would see
self-readable flags above like INCREASED_TO_HIGH_BASED_ON_ACTIONABLESCOREHIGHEREQTHAN7.

For an AL-KERNEL result of MODERATE, this report uses the following
additional presentation split:

  ActionableScore below 5   -> MODERATE REGULAR
  ActionableScore 5 or more -> MODERATE 7.0

The distinction between MODERATE REGULAR and MODERATE 7.0 makes it
possible to identify Moderate issues that should receive manual analysis
and fixes before lower-priority MODERATE REGULAR issues. In many cases,
MODERATE REGULAR fixes may wait for a later rebase or routine update.

There is one override in which MODERATE REGULAR becomes MODERATE 7.0
even when the ActionableScore is below 5. When the AL-KERNEL result
contains the KPANIC flag, a MODERATE result is always presented as
MODERATE 7.0. The KPANIC flag selected with few regexps without
usage of AI at all, so it helps to detect cases when Kernel Crash happens
and similar (to filter False-Negative results from the LLM usage).

KPANIC indicates that a reliable kernel crash, kernel panic, or similarly
serious kernel availability impact was identified by the classification
workflow.

AL-KERNEL base severity for this report: MODERATE
KPANIC detected for this report: NO
Published priority for this report (same as in Subject): MODERATE 7.0

These results are intended to support engineering triage. They are
machine-generated estimates, and cases marked for manual review should
be validated by a human security engineer before final disposition.
For more info read docs linked from here: https://kernelcve.org/
(and you can submit you own patch there to generate such a report
for non-existant CVE-id yet).

Note that in many cases this AI tool selects higher severity, than
real is (means you can expect Importants instead of Moderate 7.0 or
Moderates 7.0 instead of regular Moderates). If you see such cases,
please use reply email interface to add additional manual analyses
info to this particular CVE.
And please, please, let me know when you see Lows instead of Importants
or Important instead of Low (because particular for such cases I
need to tune this AI tool to make it better for this one and next similar).
My contact email for such notifications is alexanjelausa@gmail.com (and both
send reply to CVE record itself too and see "reply" button below for howto reply).