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TI-2026-75678 Aliases CVE-2026-98550GHSA-xqp5-j42w-5fq8

tipc: reject invalid and unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG to prevent bc_ackers underflow

Priority LOW 34Published · Updated

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

The TIPC subsystem in the Linux kernel accepts stale, duplicate or unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG messages. When the broadcast ACK counter bc_ackers is zero, or an out-of-round ACK arrives, the counter is decremented and wraps from 0 to 65535. tipc_group_bc_cong() then reports congestion permanently, which blocks all future group broadcasts on the socket. The flaw affects Linux kernels from 4.15 before the fixed versions listed in the solution, and a remote attacker without privileges can trigger it (CVSS 3.1 7.5, HIGH).

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-03

Description from the CNA

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: reject invalid and unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG to prevent bc_ackers underflow Commit 48a5fe38772b ("tipc: fix bc_ackers underflow on duplicate GRP_ACK_MSG") rejected duplicate/stale ACKs in tipc_group_proto_rcv() by returning early when less_eq(acked, m->bc_acked). However, that check remains incomplete in two ways: 1. When grp->bc_ackers is zero (e.g. on a quiet group, when replicast ACKs were not requested, or after all expected members have already acknowledged), an unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG with acked > m->bc_acked passes less_eq() and unconditionally decrements grp->bc_ackers. Because bc_ackers is a u16, this wraps to 65535, causing tipc_group_bc_cong() to permanently report congestion and blocking all future group broadcasts on the socket. 2. During an active broadcast round (grp->bc_ackers > 0), the sender transmits packet S and advances grp->bc_snd_nxt to S + 1. Receivers increment their expected counter to S + 1 upon consuming packet S, so the only valid ACK value for the current round is strictly acked == grp->bc_snd_nxt. However, tipc_group_update_bc_members() initializes each member's m->bc_acked to prev = grp->bc_snd_nxt - 1 (S - 1 before increment). This leaves a 2-sequence gap (S - 1 to S + 1) in sequence space. An incoming ACK is therefore neither rejected as duplicate nor prevented from decrementing grp->bc_ackers if an unexpected or stale value (such as S) is received. A member sending acked = S followed by acked = S + 1 could decrement grp->bc_ackers twice in the same round, prematurely clearing bc_ackers or underflowing it. Fix this by: - Dropping GRP_ACK_MSG immediately if grp->bc_ackers is zero. - Requiring acked == grp->bc_snd_nxt and rejecting duplicates where m->bc_acked == acked. Because replicast broadcast rounds are strictly sequential, only grp->bc_snd_nxt can be acknowledged, and each member can acknowledge at most once per round. Note that a related pre-existing issue in tipc_group_delete_member() (where grp->bc_ackers decrementing to zero upon member departure does not restore *grp->open or trigger a socket wakeup) will be addressed in a separate patch.

Why it matters now

EPSS 0.00677 52nd percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Partial Linux (Linux): 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189 +5Red 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
LinuxLinux4.15 and later5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3Patch availableCNA
  • Linux VendorLinux Affected 4.15 and later Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 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

Install a Linux kernel with the fix: 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3 for the matching branch. Red Hat rates the issue Moderate. The sources list no fixed version for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 or for Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5.

Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-03

  • Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 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 8AffectedNo fix yet
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: 2 products
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7

Timeline

  1. 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98550
  2. 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-xqp5-j42w-5fq8
  3. 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
  4. 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  5. 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
  6. 2026-10-24 CVSS score added · CNA
  7. 2026-10-25 EPSS moved to the 50th–90th percentile
  8. 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
  9. 2026-11-03 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