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CVE-2026-68123
openvswitch: fix GSO userspace truncation underflow
Published 2026-08-10 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/openvswitch. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-68123 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text | 6.1.187-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4777-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-08, in 6.1.187-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixed | 6.12.101-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.101-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4745-1 · 2026-08-18 · text | 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4745-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-18, in 6.12.101-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
OVS_ACTION_ATTR_TRUNC currently stores a delta from the original skb length in OVS_CB(skb)->cutlen. When a later userspace action segments a GSO skb, queue_gso_packets() reuses that delta for each smaller segment. A segment can then reach queue_userspace_packet() with cutlen greater than skb->len, underflowing the length passed to skb_zerocopy(). Store the maximum preserved length instead and bound each consumer against the current skb length. Use U32_MAX as the no-truncation sentinel so the value remains valid if skb geometry changes before a consumer handles it.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
net/openvswitch/actions.c
net/openvswitch/datapath.c
net/openvswitch/datapath.h
net/openvswitch/vport.c
- What this is
- OPENVSWITCHMAINTAINERS section matched on net/openvswitch/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- openvswitch
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_OPENVSWITCH /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
lsmod | grep -w openvswitchPrints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
- m
- a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
- Build switch
- CONFIG_OPENVSWITCH
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-10 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 9.8 critical
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.55%, higher than 44.9% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/openvswitch
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 4.8 | 5.10.265 | 50a6a85f3d6b |
| 4.8 | 5.15.216 | 2623c48cc3a8 |
| 4.8 | 6.1.183 | e211b081901f |
| 4.8 | 6.6.148 | a16eaaf7c0b0 |
| 4.8 | 6.12.101 | fbfa3ad2ad6f |
| 4.8 | 6.18.42 | 100a23b1613e |
| 4.8 | 7.1.6 | ea85dbcbe8d4 |
| 4.8 | 7.2 | 4032f8ed10fc |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
| DLA-4745-1 | 2026-08-18 | bookworm 6.12.101-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:NAttack vector, network
- Ingress packets reach ovs_vport_receive() through netdev rx_handlers or tunnel vports; GRO-coalesced GSO skbs from remote senders traverse this path into queue_gso_packets(), so the underflow is reachable from the network without physical access.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker chooses truncation max_len relative to GSO super-skb size and sends traffic that GRO segments predictably; no timing race or fragile heap layout is required to make cutlen exceed a child segment length after __skb_gso_segment().
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- In multi-tenant cloud/OVN deployments, a remote VM or container can send crafted GSO traffic into the host OVS datapath to hit provider-installed TRUNC+USERSPACE sampling flows without possessing any Linux capabilities on the host.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Triggering the flaw requires only network traffic matching existing OVS flow actions; no victim login, file open, mount, or other interactive step is needed.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Impact is kernel memory corruption and crash/escalation within the host kernel security domain; it does not cross a guest-to-hypervisor, VM, or hardware IOMMU trust boundary by itself.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Unsigned underflow makes skb->len-cutlen enormous for skb_zerocopy()/skb_copy_bits(), enabling out-of-bounds reads from the source skb and adjacent slab data, i.e., an exploitable information-disclosure primitive.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The same underflowed length can expand destination skbs via skb_len_add()/nlattr sizing, corrupting kernel heap metadata and yielding a write primitive suitable for control-flow hijacking.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The miscopied lengths can BUG the skb helpers or cause immediate kernel oops/panic during zerocopy/trim handling, and corrupted metadata can crash the system even if exploitation is not completed.