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TI-2026-68259 Aliases CVE-2026-98368GHSA-jw2q-x793-gp2m

Use-after-free and page leak in Linux kernel ESP zerocopy handling

Priority LOW 33Published · Updated

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: 5 without a fix

Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.

Summary

The Linux kernel from 6.0 is affected. The IPsec ESP output path rewrites socket buffer fragments without first downgrading zerocopy managed fragments, which breaks their reference ownership. A local user with low privileges can trigger a use-after-free of zerocopy pages and leak page references at packet rate.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

Description from the CNA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: esp: downgrade zerocopy managed frags before mutating skb frags On the out-of-place output path (esp->inplace == false) ESP rewrites the skb frag array: esp_output_head() appends a trailer frag and esp_output_tail() replaces the frags with a destination page, both referenced with get_page(). When the skb carries zerocopy managed frags (SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS) the payload frags are owned by the ubuf and must not be referenced or unreferenced individually, but ESP mutates the frag array without ever downgrading the skb. This breaks the managed-frag invariant two ways: - esp_ssg_unref() walks the source scatterlist and drops a page reference for every frag, including the ubuf-owned payload frags, pushing their refcount below the GUP pin bias while the pages are still pinned, i.e. a use-after-free of the zerocopy pages; - esp_output_tail() installs its destination page as frag 0 with get_page() but leaves SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS set, so skb_release_data() takes the skip_unref branch and never drops that reference, leaking the x->xfrag page at packet rate. Fix this the way every other frag-mutating site does (__ip_append_data(), __ip6_append_data(), tcp_sendmsg_locked()) and call skb_zcopy_downgrade_managed() before ESP touches the frag array: it takes a real reference on each existing frag and clears SKBFL_MANAGED_FRAG_REFS, so the per-frag unref in esp_ssg_unref() and the frag release in skb_release_data() are both balanced and no mixed-ownership frag array is left behind.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00117 1st percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112 +3Red Hat: 5 without a fix

SSVC decision points

Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.

Affected products

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed inStatusSource
LinuxLinux6.0 and later6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.0 and later Fixed in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3 Patch available CNA

CPE names Threatist (inferred) · 1

Inferred from how NVD named this product before; not given by a source.

CPEVersionsRoleVendor
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*——Linux
  • cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* Versions — — ·Linux

Remediation

The fixed Linux kernel versions are 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8 and 7.3, one per branch. Red Hat rates it Moderate and lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 as affected with no fix available, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 as affected with no fix planned.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3

Vendor assessments

Red Hat

Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →

ProductStatusPlan or fix
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6AffectedNo fix planned: Out of support scope
Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4AffectedNo fix yet
Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5AffectedNo fix yet
Not affected: 4 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
  • Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98368
  2. 2026-10-06 Alias added: GHSA-jw2q-x793-gp2m
  3. 2026-10-07 CVSS score added · CNA
  4. 2026-10-09 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  5. 2026-10-09 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  6. 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
  7. 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat

References

  • 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
See all 21741 →

Sources