CVE-2026-53238
netlabel: validate unlabeled address and mask attribute lengths
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlabel: validate unlabeled address and mask attribute lengths netlbl_unlabel_addrinfo_get() used the address attribute length to determine whether the attribute data could be read as an IPv4 or IPv6 address, but did not independently validate the corresponding mask attribute length. A crafted Generic Netlink request could therefore provide a valid IPv4/IPv6 address attribute with a shorter mask attribute, which would later be read as a full struct in_addr or struct in6_addr. NLA_BINARY policy lengths are maximum lengths by default, so use NLA_POLICY_EXACT_LEN() for the unlabeled IPv4/IPv6 address and mask attributes. This rejects short attributes during policy validation and also exposes the exact length requirements through policy introspection.
INFO
Published Date :
June 25, 2026, 9:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
July 8, 2026, 1:12 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | MEDIUM | [email protected] |
Solution
- Validate unlabeled address and mask attribute lengths.
- Use NLA_POLICY_EXACT_LEN() for attributes.
- Reject short attributes during policy validation.
- Expose exact length requirements via introspection.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-53238.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-53238 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-53238
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-53238 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-53238 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
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Initial Analysis by [email protected]
Jul. 08, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Added CWE NVD-CWE-noinfo Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 5.16 up to (excluding) 6.1.176 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.2 up to (excluding) 6.6.143 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 5.11 up to (excluding) 5.15.210 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.13 up to (excluding) 6.18.36 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.7 up to (excluding) 6.12.94 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 6.19 up to (excluding) 7.0.13 *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:* *cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions from (including) 2.6.25 up to (excluding) 5.10.259 Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07a18f5c90dd3d586b73242f5a5bbf0a72f2fdc6 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c4bb32ad7fdc2dc6a8050f41eb04d4bda56b6c8 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/672f0f3b8f875ffe6525a37847eafa7648c4c0c6 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71c52da13c3737493b42d20d9f33de34e03b3156 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95bda3eac0b1454c2cee98d58d9ba6dd8391e843 Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/975a84fd741440853380d37465b6e226cf47254c Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9772589b57e44aedc240211c5c3f7a684a034d3a Types: Patch Added Reference Type kernel.org: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ccfe292a966079c61ea68a2da303b2a336170993 Types: Patch -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Jun. 25, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '975a84fd741440853380d37465b6e226cf47254c', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '672f0f3b8f875ffe6525a37847eafa7648c4c0c6', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '95bda3eac0b1454c2cee98d58d9ba6dd8391e843', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '07a18f5c90dd3d586b73242f5a5bbf0a72f2fdc6', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '71c52da13c3737493b42d20d9f33de34e03b3156', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '0c4bb32ad7fdc2dc6a8050f41eb04d4bda56b6c8', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': 'ccfe292a966079c61ea68a2da303b2a336170993', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '8cc44579d1bd77ba3a32f2cb76fd9669c229c5fd', 'lessThan': '9772589b57e44aedc240211c5c3f7a684a034d3a', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['net/netlabel/netlabel_unlabeled.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '2.6.25'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '2.6.25', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '5.10.259', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '5.10.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '5.15.210', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '5.15.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.1.176', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.143', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.94', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.36', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.0.13', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.0.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['net/netlabel/netlabel_unlabeled.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlabel: validate unlabeled address and mask attribute lengths netlbl_unlabel_addrinfo_get() used the address attribute length to determine whether the attribute data could be read as an IPv4 or IPv6 address, but did not independently validate the corresponding mask attribute length. A crafted Generic Netlink request could therefore provide a valid IPv4/IPv6 address attribute with a shorter mask attribute, which would later be read as a full struct in_addr or struct in6_addr. NLA_BINARY policy lengths are maximum lengths by default, so use NLA_POLICY_EXACT_LEN() for the unlabeled IPv4/IPv6 address and mask attributes. This rejects short attributes during policy validation and also exposes the exact length requirements through policy introspection. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/07a18f5c90dd3d586b73242f5a5bbf0a72f2fdc6 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c4bb32ad7fdc2dc6a8050f41eb04d4bda56b6c8 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/672f0f3b8f875ffe6525a37847eafa7648c4c0c6 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/71c52da13c3737493b42d20d9f33de34e03b3156 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95bda3eac0b1454c2cee98d58d9ba6dd8391e843 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/975a84fd741440853380d37465b6e226cf47254c Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9772589b57e44aedc240211c5c3f7a684a034d3a Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ccfe292a966079c61ea68a2da303b2a336170993