openvswitch: only skb_tx_error() a packet we are about to drop
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 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: openvswitch: only skb_tx_error() a packet we are about to drop queue_userspace_packet() borrows the packet skb -- it only copies it into a private netlink message (user_skb) and does not own it; on return do_execute_actions() keeps forwarding it through the flow's remaining actions. Its error path nevertheless calls skb_tx_error(skb), which via skb_zcopy_clear() does skb_shinfo(skb)->flags &= ~SKBFL_ALL_ZEROCOPY, stripping SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG from that live skb (skb_tx_error()'s kerneldoc says "skb must be freed afterwards"). For a MSG_ZEROCOPY skb carrying page-cache frags, SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG is what makes esp_input() skb_cow_data() before in-place AEAD; once it is stripped a later local ESP-in-UDP delivery decrypts in place over pages the sender does not own -- an unprivileged page-cache write (the "Fragnesia" primitive). do_execute_actions() ignores output_userspace()'s return value, so any action after a failed USERSPACE upcall inherits the stripped skb. Move the skb_tx_error() to the flow-miss drop path - the "default" branch of ovs_dp_process_packet()'s switch(error), before kfree_skb(). The call has been here since commit 36d5fe6a0007 ("core, nfqueue, openvswitch: Orphan frags in skb_zerocopy and handle errors") but was harmless until esp_input() began relying on SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG to gate in-place decrypt; only then did stripping it on a still-forwarded skb become a page-cache write primitive.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Total
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 3.11, 3.13
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Important. 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 yet |
| 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 |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-89487
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-7xvh-m494-6w6x
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-03 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5de5d554141a15b3f1f5c978fd9f7f4fd6d0600a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48db11e115d1b232edc5591604adc6eda95cd545
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4477222e2916a18e273edc139c955ade6bbb7a69
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d5c460ef8754be1d43b16dbf02695b008b207d6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6767d70cf46f65807a6a4c4406a518e6c12e36ae
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e41a59fc056f63a7a1f42788913c53cc48d744aa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5d85eef222cfd28e73deed7402c100229e8b9e6e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0dbc2398fca3bb33eda963849f865ddb1b3aa05e
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Sources
- CVE-2026-89487 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-89487 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-7xvh-m494-6w6x · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-89487 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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