CVE-2026-99033: Linux kernel · net/packet: guard the ll header push in packet_rcv_spkt()
Source GCVE Database
Not known to be exploited · fixed in d8a24b9e1774a93943caf68d48c5e17be432220b : patch Linux kernel soon.
Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC
Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD
- EPSS
- 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 7% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Patch
- Available – fixed in d8a24b9e1774a93943caf68d48c5e17be432220b, 31c7b15b3716e8d0dad58d2c3cdf321dfd06f4be, 28bc1ef699610ee09ce3d46a00552f5a0a0144bd +3
Exploitation evidence
Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 23 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– |
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/packet: guard the ll header push in packet_rcv_spkt() packet_rcv_spkt() restores the link layer header with skb_push(skb, skb->data - skb_mac_header(skb)); That subtraction is only meaningful when the device actually has a link layer header. packet_rcv() and tpacket_rcv() both wrap it in dev_has_header(), which is also the predicate the block comment at the top of the file states the restore in terms of; packet_rcv_spkt() does not. commit d549699048b4 ("net/packet: fix packet receive on L3 devices without visible hard header") introduced the helper and changed the two call sites, and this one stayed behind. A device without a visible ll header can leave skb->mac_header at the 0xFFFF sentinel that __alloc_skb() initialises it to. A CAN skb does: init_can_skb() sets pkt_type and ip_summed but does not reset the headers, and commit 9f10374bb024 ("can: remove private CAN skb headroom infrastructure") dropped the skb_reset_*_header() calls that used to be there. skb_mac_header() is then 0xFFFF, the length becomes a large negative number and skb_push() reports it through skb_under_panic() -- from softirq context, so it is a full system panic even with panic_on_oops=0: skbuff: skb_under_panic: text:ffffffff8bd21bc1 len:-65455 put:-65471 head:... data:... tail:0x50 end:0x180 dev:can0 kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:214! RIP: 0010:skb_panic+0x50/0x60 Call Trace: <IRQ> skb_push+0x38/0x40 packet_rcv_spkt+0xe1/0x170 __netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0+0x7e8/0xd30 ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt The socket type is reachable: packet_create() accepts SOCK_PACKET alongside SOCK_RAW and SOCK_DGRAM behind the same CAP_NET_RAW check, and neither the socket length nor a capability check keeps it away from a CAN interface. The missing skb_reset_*_header() calls in init_can_skb() are a regression in their own right and are being fixed separately, but a packet socket should not turn a link layer that did not initialise its mac header into a kernel panic. Guard the push the way the other two receive paths do. Tested on v7.3-rc5 under QEMU with a slcan device on a pty, which is the driver RX path: vcan does not reproduce it, because can_send() resets the headers on the way out. One SOCK_PACKET socket bound to can0 and one frame written into the line discipline panics an unpatched kernel with the trace above; the same image with this patch prints no panic and powers off normally. Both kernels are this tree, defconfig plus CONFIG_CAN_SLCAN=y, differing only in this hunk.
References
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-99033 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/00fbf71e74115f7628fc0880b855434b1e70c40c (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/28bc1ef699610ee09ce3d46a00552f5a0a0144bd (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/31c7b15b3716e8d0dad58d2c3cdf321dfd06f4be (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/3efe0e0944157fdd2072b4dc7eb0491a317ed272 (opens in a new tab)
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d8a24b9e1774a93943caf68d48c5e17be432220b (opens in a new tab)