Linux kernel gve driver accepts TSO packets with out-of-range MSS
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel gve driver from 5.14 does not enforce the TSO maximum segment size of 9728 bytes that the device supports. Packets with an out-of-range gso_size reach the device, where the 14-bit MSS field silently turns a value such as 16384 into zero. A guest behind a tap or any packet socket user can supply an arbitrary gso_size in the virtio_net_hdr.
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: gve: DQO: reject TSO packets with an out of range MSS gve_prep_tso() notes that the device requires the MSS to be <= 9728, but does not enforce it, assuming the 9K MTU enforced by the hypervisor and the 64KB limit on TSO sizes are enough. This does not hold for packets that were not generated locally. A guest behind a tap, or any packet socket user, can provide an arbitrary gso_size in virtio_net_hdr. Layer 2 forwarding does not check the MTU for GSO packets (is_skb_forwardable()), and gso_features_check() only bounds skb->len and gso_segs, never gso_size. Such a packet reaches gve_tx_fill_tso_ctx_desc(), which puts gso_size into the mss field of the TSO context descriptor. This field is 14 bits wide, so a gso_size of 16384 is silently turned into an MSS of zero. Drop these packets from gve_prep_tso(), and make sure that gve_features_check_dqo() leaves their GSO bits alone: skb_segment() splits at gso_size regardless of the MTU, so falling back to software segmentation would give the device non TSO packets bigger than the 9728 bytes it supports. Note that the device can still be given oversized non TSO packets when the stack segments in software for other reasons, for instance after TSO has been disabled with ethtool. This is a generic issue, because the MTU check is skipped for GSO packets in the forwarding path, and is addressed separately.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 6.18.55, 7.2.9 or 7.3, which contain the fix. Red Hat has no fix plan for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 or Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5, which it lists as affected.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 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 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 |
Not affected: 3 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98556
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-jwgx-gfj4-hvfm
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-20 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-20 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98556 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98556 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-jwgx-gfj4-hvfm · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98556 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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