ipv6: rpl: fix NULL dereference of idev in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv()
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- 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 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: rpl: fix NULL dereference of idev in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() dereferences idev from __in6_dev_get() without a NULL check when reading idev->cnf.rpl_seg_enabled. When the device's MTU drops below IPV6_MIN_MTU, addrconf_ifdown() clears dev->ip6_ptr through RCU_INIT_POINTER(). A packet that passed the idev check in ip6_rcv_core() can then reach ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() with dev->ip6_ptr already NULL. Reproduced by flooding the receiving interface with ping6 traffic while flapping its MTU between 1500 and 1200: BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv+0xb3/0x1070 Read of size 4 at addr 00000000000006b4 by task ping6/394 CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 394 Comm: ping6 Not tainted 7.2.0-rc7-micro-vm-dev-00095-g24ef02f934ee #240 PREEMPT(full) Call Trace: <IRQ> kasan_report+0xc6/0x100 ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv+0xb3/0x1070 ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x759/0x9a0 ip6_input_finish+0xa8/0x1b0 ip6_input+0xe1/0x490 ipv6_rcv+0x33d/0x460 __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0xd6/0x130 process_backlog+0x2cc/0xa00 __napi_poll.constprop.0+0x56/0x270 net_rx_action+0x327/0x730 handle_softirqs+0x11e/0x630 do_softirq+0xb3/0xf0 </IRQ> Both ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() and ipv6_srh_rcv() are called only from ipv6_rthdr_rcv(), which already has an idev lookup. Fix the NULL dereference on the RPL path by checking idev in ipv6_rthdr_rcv(), before it calls either function. The callees take idev as an argument and no longer call __in6_dev_get(), so the packet is now dropped in one place, with SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6DISABLED on both paths.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.191, 6.6.160, 6.12.111, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3
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: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| 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 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-89561
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-cq7m-m9w3-cxf7
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@62b63a505c10e8db76017ef73c0b243e0dc5d288 · CNA
- 2026-10-21 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Fix available: Linux/[email protected], Linux/Linux@f5e89dfc0a815c6ed12791d8deb3b6f39dd0621e · CNA
- 2026-10-30 1 new reference · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5e89dfc0a815c6ed12791d8deb3b6f39dd0621e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/62b63a505c10e8db76017ef73c0b243e0dc5d288
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e7123e10c86eb88eaa90537dd1f232706de2d308
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/63f50e9f90d0287ad66a0955ebfc2d3a9c044a1c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eab3a917cdcb182542a3aac6a0d2d30659ca9821
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f826df95332c07380206dbd54178b6eefb311aba
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Sources
- CVE-2026-89561 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-89561 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-cq7m-m9w3-cxf7 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-89561 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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