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Linux maintainers are further dismantling exposed kernel cryptography paths after concluding that several interfaces create unnecessary risk with limited benefit. In the Linux 7.3 cycle, the Qualcomm Crypto Engine (QCE) accelerator driver is being marked BROKEN and dropped from default ARM builds because it is slower than CPU-based cryptography, has a history of bugs, and can trigger race conditions with the secure world due to non-exclusive hardware access. The kernel is also tightening restrictions on AF_ALG, a userspace interface to kernel crypto functions that was deprecated in Linux 7.2 over its broad attack surface and is being constrained further in 7.3.
The fallout is already reaching distributions and encryption tooling. cryptsetup 2.8.7 adds stronger fallback handling to userspace crypto libraries and temporary dm-crypt mappings so encrypted storage can continue working when AF_ALG is unavailable, while warning that some algorithms may still be missing outside the kernel path. Fedora 45 is also planning to remove support for CRYPTO_USER_API, citing architectural and security concerns, limited adoption, and the broader shift away from kernel-exposed crypto APIs after protections tied to the Copy Fail vulnerability affected AF_ALG usage in earlier kernel updates.
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7 events from the most recent confirmed update back to the earliest known activity.
A Fedora 45 proposal outlined an initial phase for disabling the Linux in-kernel crypto userspace API by limiting access to known applications such as iwd, cryptsetup, and libkcapi. The phased approach was intended to align with Linux 7.2 and planned Linux 7.3 restrictions while identifying unknown users before upstream removal.
Cryptsetup 2.8.7 was released with improved fallback support to userspace crypto libraries and temporary dm-crypt mappings to keep encrypted storage operations working when AF_ALG is disabled or limited. The release also included keyring handling changes, mitigations for possible LUKS volume key digest collisions, and added Aria and Camellia support in the libgcrypt backend.
After the Linux 7.2 deprecation, maintainers further restricted AF_ALG in Linux 7.3. These changes created compatibility fallout for software relying on kernel cryptographic functions from userspace.
Linux maintainers deprecated the AF_ALG userspace cryptography interface in Linux 7.2 because of its large attack surface and security concerns. Fedora-related coverage also ties AF_ALG restrictions to the Copy Fail vulnerability affecting local privilege escalation and container escape scenarios.
For the upcoming Linux 7.3 cycle, the kernel disabled the Qualcomm Crypto Engine Accelerator driver by marking it BROKEN and removing it from default ARMv7 and AArch64 builds. Maintainers cited worse-than-CPU performance, a history of bugs, and security risks from non-exclusive hardware access and race conditions with the secure world.
Fedora 45 plans to remove support for the Linux Crypto Userspace API (CRYPTO_USER_API) because of security, architectural, and maintenance concerns, along with limited practical use. The change was described as part of Fedora 45 planning for 2026.
FESCo approved a proposal for Fedora 45 to adopt the Anaconda WebUI web-based installer, including use for Fedora Atomic Desktop variants such as Silverblue and Kinoite. The installer is intended to support remote installation scenarios.
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**CVE-2024-58075** affects the NVIDIA Tegra cryptographic driver in Linux kernels beginning with version 6.10. When `tegra_cmac_init` or `tegra_sha_init` fails—such as during memory exhaustion—the driver could still transfer the cryptographic request instead of stopping processing. The unchecked return value (`CWE-252`) can leave the system in an unexpected state and may cause crashes, restarts, or other availability impacts. The issue is fixed in upstream stable kernels 6.12.13 and 6.13.2, and in Linux 6.14-rc1; maintainers recommend updating to a current stable kernel rather than cherry-picking the patch. Red Hat resolved the flaw for RHEL 9 and RHEL 10 through **RHSA-2025:20518** and **RHSA-2025:20095**, respectively. Several older RHEL kernel streams are unaffected, while the RHEL 9 real-time kernel is designated will not fix.
Aug 26, 2026
The Linux `7.2` merge window has introduced several security-focused changes, including support for updating Intel **Trusted Domain Extensions** (TDX) modules on running systems, a step aimed at improving maintainability for confidential-computing deployments without requiring downtime. The kernel also adds arm64 hardening to remove data regions from the linear map, strengthens `openat2()` with `OPENAT2_REGULAR` and `EFTYPE` handling, and extends `fs-verity` support in `iomap` alongside a new `dm-inlinecrypt` device-mapper target. Additional protections target exploit resistance and attack-surface reduction across the kernel. The slab allocator now supports Clang allocation tokens to make cross-object memory corruption harder to exploit, while PowerPC’s hardware-optimized `MD5` implementation is being removed and `AF_ALG` is being deprecated after multiple recent security issues, including removal of its hardware-accelerator support. The update also includes broader networking and BPF changes, but the most notable theme is a sustained push to harden core kernel subsystems and reduce exposure from legacy or problematic components.
Aug 17, 2026
Debian and F5 issued security advisories for multiple Linux kernel vulnerabilities after disclosure of **CVE-2026-31533**, a flaw in the kernel `net/tls` subsystem. Google security research documentation describes the bug as a **use-after-free** in the `-EBUSY` error path of `tls_do_encryption()`, caused by a double decrement of the `encrypt_pending` sentinel and a double scatterlist restore, creating a condition that can corrupt kernel memory. The vulnerability was reported as having been exploited as a **zero-day** against `lts-6.12.77` and `cos-121-18867.381.30`, and the published kernelCTF material said the issue reproduced reliably in an `exploit_repro` workflow. The coordinated advisories indicate downstream impact across Linux-based products, with Debian shipping `DSA 6355-1` for `linux` and F5 warning customers about multiple Linux kernel vulnerabilities that include the affected code base.
Jun 29, 2026