CVE-2026-81000: Linux kernel · net: tun: bound receive headroom
Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 29% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 11 Sep 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.
What to do
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threats | Affected
| Fixed in– |
Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.
AI-suggested
A fix has been applied to bound the headroom stored by TUN to safe limits and adjust header processing to prevent out-of-bounds skb data placement. Users should update to the patched Linux kernel version containing this fix. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the input data; check the vendor advisory for current remediation guidance.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tun: bound receive headroom tun_get_user() uses tun->align both as skb headroom and when choosing how much packet data to keep linear. OVS can propagate an oversized headroom request from another port to TUN or TAP. When align is larger than the usable space in a one-page skb head, SKB_MAX_HEAD(align) underflows and the result becomes negative when stored in good_linear. That value later wraps when assigned to the size_t linear variable, and tun_alloc_skb() can place skb->data outside the allocated head. Bound the headroom stored by TUN to the one-page skb-head budget and the largest non-sentinel 16-bit skb header offset. Leave one linear byte for raw TUN and a complete Ethernet header for TAP, including NET_IP_ALIGN. Also pull the raw-TUN protocol byte and the TAP Ethernet header before accessing them, so these checks remain safe for nonlinear skbs supplied by other allocation paths.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81000 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ada54ea63e48b9c1608e917ccb7dfadbe86db28 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/379d85c7f25f3e05a428225e6b8a65613c6e9b9d (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/447c9303942c439a117d9b76ce6d6e2116b38ee7 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e098d9cc8859614a7f7baebc96e32a5a16b18ed2 (opens in a new tab)
- ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-81000 (opens in a new tab)
- cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-81000 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/linus/447c9303942c439a117d9b76ce6d6e2116b38ee7 (opens in a new tab)