CVE-2026-98532: Linux kernel · ipv6: do not let ipv6_find_hdr() return an offset past the packet end
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.1 High · fixed in ee319bd3a0e976af5087cbe59ebc50a66f31d202 : patch Linux kernel soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC
- EPSS
- 0.6% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 49% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in ee319bd3a0e976af5087cbe59ebc50a66f31d202, dc92cb972e86790b8078337ec41015b748b8f8e5, ca96b38730e31357ef4a9d76af1336958ac670d7 +5
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HExploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 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
Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.
Affected software
| Product | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
| LinuxLinux | Affected
| Fixed in
|
AI-suggested
A fix is available that adds bounds checking in ipv6_find_hdr() to ensure the offset does not exceed the packet length, rejecting malformed headers. Users should apply the official Linux kernel updates that include this patch. Since this is a kernel vulnerability, updating to a patched kernel version is the recommended remediation. No additional mitigations are indicated by the vendor advisory.
Description
A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's ipv6_find_hdr() function could allow it to return an offset beyond the end of a packet. This occurs because the function skips extension headers based on their declared length without verifying that the skip stays within the packet bounds. This flaw can lead to out-of-bounds reads and writes when other kernel components, such as openvswitch, use the offset to access transport headers, potentially causing use-after-free errors. The issue has been resolved by adding bounds checking to reject headers whose declared length exceeds the packet size.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98532 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/1c70275ca87e769e1a52abc644d61372d8c016cb (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d42828565889632068fbc2983c34d57c66af4e0 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/4254d5878c320c19961dd0b8e1d0aca4800d8b7d (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/531255de8971c06d5d5986f85fdc2525d707ba71 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/543354c6efb27eae3372a3a9674aeaa2a86e2b2c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ca96b38730e31357ef4a9d76af1336958ac670d7 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/dc92cb972e86790b8078337ec41015b748b8f8e5 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee319bd3a0e976af5087cbe59ebc50a66f31d202 (opens in a new tab)