VulnerabilityPublished 25 Jan 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-23003: Linux kernel · ip6_tunnel: use skb_vlan_inet_prepare() in __ip6_tnl_rcv()

Affects Linux kernelSource CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.5 High · fixed in f9c5c5b791d3850570796f9e067629474e613796 : patch Linux kernel soon.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:20 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.5High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS

0.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 45% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation: No evidence of active exploitation and no public proof of concept
Automatable: Attackers can reliably automate steps 1–4 of the kill chain
Technical impact: Limited control over the software or limited information exposure

CISA SSVC assessment, 2026-06-16.

Patch

Available – fixed in f9c5c5b791d3850570796f9e067629474e613796, df5ffde9669314500809bc498ae73d6d3d9519ac, b9f915340f25cae1562f18e1eb52deafca328414 +9

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Attack Vector: Network
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Network: The vulnerable component is bound to the network stack and the set of possible attackers extends beyond the other options listed, up to and including the entire Internet. Such a vulnerability is often termed 'remotely exploitable' and can be thought of as an attack being exploitable at the protocol level one or more network hops away (e.g., across one or more routers).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: None: There is no loss of confidentiality within the impacted component.
Integrity: None: There is no loss of integrity within the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 25 Jan 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=5.10.210 <5.10.249 >=5.15.149 <5.15.199 >=6.1.77 <6.1.162 >=6.6.16 <6.6.122 >=6.7.4 <6.8	Fixed in f9c5c5b791d3850570796f9e067629474e613796 df5ffde9669314500809bc498ae73d6d3d9519ac b9f915340f25cae1562f18e1eb52deafca328414 81c734dae203757fb3c9eee6f9896386940776bd 64c71d60a21a9ed0a802483dcd422b5b24eb1abe 9e1c8c2a33d0a7b1f637b5d0602fe56ed10166af 6.8 6.6.122 6.1.162 5.15.199 5.10.249 2f03dafea0a8096a2eb60f551218b360e5bab9a3
LinuxLinux	Affected =6.8	Fixed in–

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ip6_tunnel: use skb_vlan_inet_prepare() in __ip6_tnl_rcv() Blamed commit did not take care of VLAN encapsulations as spotted by syzbot [1]. Use skb_vlan_inet_prepare() instead of pskb_inet_may_pull(). [1] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in __INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:253 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:275 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in IP6_ECN_decapsulate+0x7a8/0x1fa0 include/net/inet_ecn.h:321 __INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:253 [inline] INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:275 [inline] IP6_ECN_decapsulate+0x7a8/0x1fa0 include/net/inet_ecn.h:321 ip6ip6_dscp_ecn_decapsulate+0x16f/0x1b0 net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c:729 __ip6_tnl_rcv+0xed9/0x1b50 net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c:860 ip6_tnl_rcv+0xc3/0x100 net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c:903 gre_rcv+0x1529/0x1b90 net/ipv6/ip6_gre.c:-1 ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x1c89/0x2c60 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:438 ip6_input_finish+0x1f4/0x4a0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:489 NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:318 [inline] ip6_input+0x9c/0x330 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:500 ip6_mc_input+0x7ca/0xc10 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:590 dst_input include/net/dst.h:474 [inline] ip6_rcv_finish+0x958/0x990 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:79 NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:318 [inline] ipv6_rcv+0xf1/0x3c0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:311 __netif_receive_skb_one_core net/core/dev.c:6139 [inline] __netif_receive_skb+0x1df/0xac0 net/core/dev.c:6252 netif_receive_skb_internal net/core/dev.c:6338 [inline] netif_receive_skb+0x57/0x630 net/core/dev.c:6397 tun_rx_batched+0x1df/0x980 drivers/net/tun.c:1485 tun_get_user+0x5c0e/0x6c60 drivers/net/tun.c:1953 tun_chr_write_iter+0x3e9/0x5c0 drivers/net/tun.c:1999 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:593 [inline] vfs_write+0xbe2/0x15d0 fs/read_write.c:686 ksys_write fs/read_write.c:738 [inline] __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:749 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:746 [inline] __x64_sys_write+0x1fb/0x4d0 fs/read_write.c:746 x64_sys_call+0x30ab/0x3e70 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:2 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd3/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Uninit was created at: slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4960 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:5263 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof+0x9e7/0x17a0 mm/slub.c:5315 kmalloc_reserve+0x13c/0x4b0 net/core/skbuff.c:586 __alloc_skb+0x805/0x1040 net/core/skbuff.c:690 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1383 [inline] alloc_skb_with_frags+0xc5/0xa60 net/core/skbuff.c:6712 sock_alloc_send_pskb+0xacc/0xc60 net/core/sock.c:2995 tun_alloc_skb drivers/net/tun.c:1461 [inline] tun_get_user+0x1142/0x6c60 drivers/net/tun.c:1794 tun_chr_write_iter+0x3e9/0x5c0 drivers/net/tun.c:1999 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:593 [inline] vfs_write+0xbe2/0x15d0 fs/read_write.c:686 ksys_write fs/read_write.c:738 [inline] __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:749 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:746 [inline] __x64_sys_write+0x1fb/0x4d0 fs/read_write.c:746 x64_sys_call+0x30ab/0x3e70 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:2 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd3/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6465 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(none) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/25/2025

CWE-457Use of Uninitialized Variable (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: High
The code uses a variable that has not been initialized, leading to unpredictable or unintended results.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Ensure that critical variables are initialized before first use.
Build and Compilation · Compilation or Build Hardening
Most compilers will complain about the use of uninitialized variables if warnings are turned on.
Implementation · Operation
When using a language that does not require explicit declaration of variables, run or compile the software in a mode that reports undeclared or unknown variables. This may indicate the presence of a typographic error in the variable's name.
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

WeaknessesCWE-457

Technical details

References

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