ipv6: fix Route Information option length validation
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · None · None
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: fix Route Information option length validation rt6_route_rcv() validates the Route Information option (RFC 4191) length against the prefix length, but both checks are off by one. rinfo->length is the ND option length in units of 8 octets and it *includes* the 8-byte option header, so an option carrying N bytes of prefix has length == 1 + N/8. RFC 4191 section 2.3 requires length 3 when Prefix Length is greater than 64, and 2 or 3 when it is greater than 0. The code accepts length >= 2 and length >= 1 respectively. ipv6_addr_prefix() then copies prefix_len/8 bytes out of rinfo->prefix, so a Router Advertisement with (prefix_len=128, length=2) or (prefix_len=64, length=1) makes the kernel read up to 8 bytes past the end of the option. Those bytes end up in the prefix of the route that gets installed, so they are visible to userspace: # RA with a Route Information option (prefix_len=128, length=2) # followed by a source link-layer address option, 01 01 de ad be ef ca fe $ ip -6 route show 2001:db8:dead:beef:101:dead:beef:cafe via fe80::1234 dev veth0 proto ra ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the next option, read out of bounds When the Route Information option is the last one in the packet, those eight bytes come from the skb tail room instead. Reject the option lengths RFC 4191 does not allow.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- 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 | 2.6.17 and later | 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.17 and later Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2
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-2026-74598
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-vf8p-r5fr-wx72
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-30 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f6f94eda12430fb41b24b44a71e2ea4e93561d7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7eac87396c44a312be457ef41d4c5687883be9a2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7309529f257ae18e72112ef9f614edfd6df229bb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0b9e02f3bd31c888f2ccdc0ca08e546d6abe9c4d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff3cb05289b8a4ef95fa7ea14c7d34818359edbb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b2231e358d26e3aec5d8040b1fb777af03c5f05
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da64ed1f346ba84df574d6469fa2e422b2511719
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1ad8fb2ac6a1afb71dc22d9ae8efb4dda96c824
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74598 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74598 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-vf8p-r5fr-wx72 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74598 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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