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CVSS 9.8 · CRITICAL

CVE-2026-74473Critical vulnerability in Linux kernel VXLAN module

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vxlan: use pskb_network_may_pull() in route_shortcircuit() route_shortcircuit() currently calls pskb_may_pull(skb, sizeof(struct iphdr)) (or ipv6hdr), which checks if bytes are available starting from skb->data. However, in vxlan_xmit(), skb->data points to the MAC header, so skb_network_offset(skb) is ETH_HLEN (14 bytes). Using pskb_may_pull(skb, 20) only checks 20 bytes from skb->data (which is 14 bytes MAC header + 6 bytes of IP header), leaving the rest of the IP header potentially un-pulled in non-linear frags. Subsequent dereferences of ip_hdr(skb)->daddr can read beyond the pulled linear buffer length. Fix this by using pskb_network_may_pull(), which adds skb_network_offset(skb) to the length check to ensure the full network header is present in the linear buffer.

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Analysis

A critical vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel VXLAN module. This flaw allows for out-of-bounds memory access through crafted network packets, potentially impacting cloud infrastructures and container environments that rely on virtualized overlay networks.

Severity

Score: 9.8(CRITICAL)
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
AV: NETWORK
AC: LOW
PR: NONE
UI: NONE
S: UNCHANGED
C: HIGH
I: HIGH
A: HIGH

EPSS

Probability of exploitation (next 30 days): 0.0046 (0.5%)
Percentile: 38.1%
EPSS: 2026-08-19

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vxlan: use pskb_network_may_pull() in route_shortcircuit() route_shortcircuit() currently calls pskb_may_pull(skb, sizeof(struct iphdr)) (or ipv6hdr), which checks if bytes are available starting from skb->data. However, in vxlan_xmit(), skb->data points to the MAC header, so skb_network_offset(skb) is ETH_HLEN (14 bytes). Using pskb_may_pull(skb, 20) only checks 20 bytes from skb->data (which is 14 bytes MAC header + 6 bytes of IP header), leaving the rest of the IP header potentially un-pulled in non-linear frags. Subsequent dereferences of ip_hdr(skb)->daddr can read beyond the pulled linear buffer length. Fix this by using pskb_network_may_pull(), which adds skb_network_offset(skb) to the length check to ensure the full network header is present in the linear buffer.

Published: 8/15/2026, 1:17:52 PM
Last modified: 8/19/2026, 5:21:04 PM

References

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