af_packet: Don't send zero-byte data in tpacket_snd().
Key facts
- Attack vector
- —
- Privileges required
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- User interaction
- —
- Attack complexity
- —
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- —
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: af_packet: Don't send zero-byte data in tpacket_snd(). syzbot reported a WARNING in __dev_queue_xmit() triggered via tpacket_snd(): skb_assert_len WARNING: at include/linux/skbuff.h:2753 skb_assert_len WARNING: at __dev_queue_xmit+0x21bc/0x4970 net/core/dev.c:4781 Call Trace: <TASK> dev_queue_xmit include/linux/netdevice.h:3448 [inline] packet_xmit+0x243/0x310 net/packet/af_packet.c:276 tpacket_snd net/packet/af_packet.c:2907 [inline] packet_sendmsg+0x28d6/0x4eb0 net/packet/af_packet.c:3134 When sending 0-byte packets via TPACKET ring buffer on devices with no hard header (e.g. dev->hard_header_len == 0), tpacket_fill_skb() populates an skb with skb->len == 0 and returns 0. tpacket_snd() then forwards this empty skb to packet_xmit(), causing __dev_queue_xmit() to hit skb_assert_len(skb). Similar checks exist in packet_snd() via commit dc633700f00f ("net/af_packet: check len when min_header_len equals to 0") and in packet_sendmsg_spkt() via commit 6a341729fb31 ("af_packet: Don't send zero-byte data in packet_sendmsg_spkt()."). Return -EINVAL in tpacket_fill_skb() when skb->len is zero to reject zero-length packets in tpacket_snd().
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 | 2.6.12 and later | 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.153, 6.12.105, 6.18.46, 7.1.10, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.12 and later Fixed in 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.153, 6.12.105, 6.18.46, 7.1.10, 7.2 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.153, 6.12.105, 6.18.46, 7.1.10, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Low. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-80742
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-66qw-vmh2-j2c2
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-22 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-11-07 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dde212f8622f5cb36223fff1ebd6e6f2a3dc61fe
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/80a702964467b998d254f16cc61c2c9a20540c9d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7521e691c7c4f2231634c95053281ac888d1f452
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1fc70b3d513bafb16b17540178870ef46e81c0bb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3fa110f9e2ea96f567f2194c673c4bc327640111
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98c5914d6b7bd4b4675535908e57dea31f1efd6a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f09ac5682f1bb67981fcb6ead4d3cfe439225876
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6bcd76c134c55c697148acb5c0194e9666abdf84
More Linux 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-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel 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
Sources
- CVE-2026-80742 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-80742 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-66qw-vmh2-j2c2 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-80742 · 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