CVE-2026-98401
net: iptunnel: fix stale transport header during tunnel decapsulation
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: iptunnel: fix stale transport header during tunnel decapsulation Syzbot reported a crash in qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init() caused by a stale transport_header offset after tunnel decapsulation. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffed102091a42e Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 340 Comm: qdisc_uaf_repro Not tainted 7.2.0-rc4-00061-g248951ddc14d #256 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__asan_load2 <IRQ> qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init (net/core/dev.c:4145) __dev_queue_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4787) br_dev_queue_push_xmit (net/bridge/br_forward.c:53) br_handle_frame_finish (net/bridge/br_input.c:229) br_handle_frame (net/bridge/br_input.c:315) __netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0 (net/core/dev.c:6099) __netif_receive_skb_list_core (net/core/dev.c:6287) netif_receive_skb_list_internal (net/core/dev.c:6445) napi_complete_done (net/core/dev.c:6813) gro_cell_poll (net/core/gro_cells.c:74) __napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:7735) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:7798 net/core/dev.c:7955) handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:622) do_softirq (kernel/softirq.c:523 kernel/softirq.c:510 ) __local_bh_enable_ip (kernel/softirq.c:450) tun_get_user (drivers/net/tun.c:1986 (discriminator 1)) tun_chr_write_iter (drivers/net/tun.c:2032) The issue is completely latent until qdisc read transport header in commit 7fb4c1967011 ("net: pull headers in qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init()"). The crash requires four conditions to line up: 1. The incoming packet is encapsulated and carries GSO metadata. The outer transport header offset is stored in skb->transport_header while the packet is still in the outer tunnel context. 2. The tunnel receiver strips the outer headers. skb->data is advanced to the inner frame, but skb->transport_header is left pointing to the now-removed outer L4 header, so it becomes a negative offset relative to the new data. 3. The inner frame is not delivered to the local IP stack. Instead, it is forwarded at L2 by a bridge or HSR, so ip_rcv_core() never runs and the transport header is not reset to the inner L4 offset. 4. The forwarding path calls __dev_queue_xmit(), which enters qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init(). That function computes the GSO header length from skb_transport_offset(skb). Because the offset is negative, the unsigned cast overflows and pskb_may_pull(skb, hdr_len + sizeof(struct tcphdr)) reads past the end of the skb, triggering a KASAN fault or page fault. The issue specifically requires GSO packets (shinfo->gso_size != 0), which are processed/aggregated through gro_cells. Fix this by clearing transport_header to the ~0U sentinel in gro_cell for all tunnnel driver. GTP does not support GRO/GSO, drop the evil GSO packets in GTP directly.
INFO
Published Date :
Oct. 14, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
Oct. 14, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Solution
- Clear transport_header to ~0U in gro_cell for tunnel drivers.
- Drop GSO packets in GTP driver.
- Apply kernel patches that resolve this issue.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2026-98401.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-98401 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-2026-98401
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).
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CVE-2026-98401 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-98401 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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New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Oct. 14, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: iptunnel: fix stale transport header during tunnel decapsulation Syzbot reported a crash in qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init() caused by a stale transport_header offset after tunnel decapsulation. BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffed102091a42e Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 340 Comm: qdisc_uaf_repro Not tainted 7.2.0-rc4-00061-g248951ddc14d #256 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:__asan_load2 <IRQ> qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init (net/core/dev.c:4145) __dev_queue_xmit (net/core/dev.c:4787) br_dev_queue_push_xmit (net/bridge/br_forward.c:53) br_handle_frame_finish (net/bridge/br_input.c:229) br_handle_frame (net/bridge/br_input.c:315) __netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0 (net/core/dev.c:6099) __netif_receive_skb_list_core (net/core/dev.c:6287) netif_receive_skb_list_internal (net/core/dev.c:6445) napi_complete_done (net/core/dev.c:6813) gro_cell_poll (net/core/gro_cells.c:74) __napi_poll (net/core/dev.c:7735) net_rx_action (net/core/dev.c:7798 net/core/dev.c:7955) handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:622) do_softirq (kernel/softirq.c:523 kernel/softirq.c:510 ) __local_bh_enable_ip (kernel/softirq.c:450) tun_get_user (drivers/net/tun.c:1986 (discriminator 1)) tun_chr_write_iter (drivers/net/tun.c:2032) The issue is completely latent until qdisc read transport header in commit 7fb4c1967011 ("net: pull headers in qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init()"). The crash requires four conditions to line up: 1. The incoming packet is encapsulated and carries GSO metadata. The outer transport header offset is stored in skb->transport_header while the packet is still in the outer tunnel context. 2. The tunnel receiver strips the outer headers. skb->data is advanced to the inner frame, but skb->transport_header is left pointing to the now-removed outer L4 header, so it becomes a negative offset relative to the new data. 3. The inner frame is not delivered to the local IP stack. Instead, it is forwarded at L2 by a bridge or HSR, so ip_rcv_core() never runs and the transport header is not reset to the inner L4 offset. 4. The forwarding path calls __dev_queue_xmit(), which enters qdisc_pkt_len_segs_init(). That function computes the GSO header length from skb_transport_offset(skb). Because the offset is negative, the unsigned cast overflows and pskb_may_pull(skb, hdr_len + sizeof(struct tcphdr)) reads past the end of the skb, triggering a KASAN fault or page fault. The issue specifically requires GSO packets (shinfo->gso_size != 0), which are processed/aggregated through gro_cells. Fix this by clearing transport_header to the ~0U sentinel in gro_cell for all tunnnel driver. GTP does not support GRO/GSO, drop the evil GSO packets in GTP directly. Added Affected New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98401.json">CVE-2026-98401</a> Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/28a57fb2c5df4deb42a06e52fd36c14b37aa0034 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3340b8565b85631cfeb0df049e8b46e3ef8bd7bd Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c3d4dfcecf7670c1d752f1ae74b21b2af5feac1 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e4a5b01e59f7102169762b8f566c8e052d05c0ff