xfrm: ah: account for ESN high bits in async callbacks
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · NVD. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: ah: account for ESN high bits in async callbacks AH allocates its temporary auth/ICV layout differently when ESN is enabled: the async ahash setup appends a 4-byte seqhi slot before the ICV or auth_data area, but the async completion callbacks still reconstruct the temporary layout as if seqhi were absent. With an async AH implementation selected, that makes AH copy or compare the wrong bytes on both the IPv4 and IPv6 paths. In UML repro on IPv4 AH with ESN and forced async hmac(sha1), ping fails with 100% packet loss, and the callback logs show the pre-fix drift: ah4 output_done: esn=1 err=0 icv_off=20 expected_off=24 ah4 input_done: esn=1 auth_off=20 expected_auth_off=24 icv_off=32 expected_icv_off=36 Reconstruct the callback-side layout the same way the setup path built it by skipping the ESN seqhi slot before locating the saved auth_data or ICV. Per RFC 4302, the ESN high-order 32 bits participate in the AH ICV computation, so the async callbacks must account for the seqhi slot. Post-fix, the same IPv4 AH+ESN+forced-async-hmac(sha1) UML repro shows the corrected offset (ah4 output_done: esn=1 err=0 icv_off=24 expected_off=24) and ping succeeds; net/ipv4/ah4.o and net/ipv6/ah6.o build clean at W=1. IPv6 AH+ESN was not exercised at runtime, and the change has not been tested against a real async hardware AH engine.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 3.15 and later | 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 3.15 and later Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1 Patch available CNA
CPE configurations NVD · 3
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | 3.15 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.88; 6.13 to before 6.18.30; 6.19 to before 7.0.7 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc1 | Vulnerable | Linux |
| cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* | 7.1 rc2 | Vulnerable | Linux |
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 3.15 to before 6.6.140; 6.7 to before 6.12.88; 6.13 to before 6.18.30; 6.19 to before 7.0.7 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc1 Vulnerable ·Linux
- cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions 7.1 rc2 Vulnerable ·Linux
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, 7.1
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-46193
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-h5pr-w979-v38m
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
References
Patch 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0555d4f526232b3c9e3afbcd490c0c0793aefec6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/729899a2aa8bda7844be0cdcd3b470f11b912eda
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7db99a09b3bc87268287bc7ab5f2e7f382b5ad87
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ffaa7a94f9a4d22724364a1821735a0231d9f8d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ec54093e6a8f87e800bb6aa15eb7fc1e33faa524
More Linux Kernel vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2021-05514 Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACE KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.3
Sources
- CVE-2026-46193 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-46193 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-h5pr-w979-v38m · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-46193 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences