In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: qlcnic: validate unified ROM sections before loading
The unified ROM parser reads directory, product, and data-descriptor fields from the firmware file. Existing validation forms table and data ends with unchecked additions and multiplications. Malformed values can wrap before they are compared with the firmware size. The parser also dereferences typed pointers at firmware-controlled offsets.
Valid descriptor extents alone are insufficient for the consumers. The loader reads a fixed-size bootloader regardless of its declared size, the version parser assumes a 17-byte tail, and a partial final firmware word is read as a full u64. A truncated image can therefore make the driver read beyond the firmware allocation during validation or loading.
Replace the pointer-returning parser with bounded range helpers. Validate table entry sizes, descriptor indices, section ranges, the fixed bootloader load length, and the version tail before exposing any section. Read all file fields with unaligned little-endian accessors and assemble a partial final word from only the bytes that remain. Apply the same range checks to the legacy image before reading its fixed fields.