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CVE-2026-68297
tipc: fix u16 MTU truncation in media and bearer MTU validation
Published 2026-08-10 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/tipc. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-68297 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
Both TIPC_NL_MEDIA_SET and TIPC_NL_BEARER_SET accept user-supplied MTU values but only enforce a minimum bound, not a maximum. When a user sets the MTU to a value exceeding U16_MAX (65535), it passes validation but is silently truncated when assigned to u16 fields l->mtu and l->advertised_mtu in tipc_link_create(). Values like 65536 (0x10000) truncate to 0, causing a division by zero in tipc_link_set_queue_limits() which computes TIPC_MAX_PUBL / (l->mtu / ITEM_SIZE). Other overflowing values (e.g. 65537-131071) produce small incorrect MTU values, resulting in link malfunction behaviors. Crash stack (triggered as unprivileged user via user namespace): tipc_link_set_queue_limits net/tipc/link.c:2531 tipc_link_create net/tipc/link.c:520 tipc_node_check_dest net/tipc/node.c:1279 tipc_disc_rcv net/tipc/discover.c:252 tipc_rcv net/tipc/node.c:2129 tipc_udp_recv net/tipc/udp_media.c:392 Two independent paths lack the upper bound check: 1. tipc_udp_mtu_bad() -- called from __tipc_nl_media_set() (MEDIA_SET) 2. inline check in __tipc_nl_bearer_set() at bearer.c:1160 (BEARER_SET) Fix both by rejecting MTU values above U16_MAX.
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/tipc/netlink.c
- What this is
- TIPC NETWORK LAYERMAINTAINERS section matched on net/tipc/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
- Kernel module
- tipc
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_TIPC /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 tipcPrints 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_TIPC
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
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.13%, higher than 2.3% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/tipc
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 4.18 | 5.10.265 | 8bfdfe0dbb36 |
| 4.18 | 5.15.216 | dc4b577a083b |
| 4.18 | 6.1.183 | dfdfd987f191 |
| 4.18 | 6.6.148 | f02334a9e378 |
| 4.18 | 6.12.101 | f4013598b694 |
| 4.18 | 6.18.42 | 1b8fb5a20508 |
| 4.18 | 7.1.6 | c1cda72f6ace |
| 4.18 | 7.2 | 9f29cd8a8e79 |
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:LAttack vector, local
- The attack begins with a local TIPC netlink command (TIPC_NL_BEARER_SET/TIPC_NL_MEDIA_SET) setting an out-of-range MTU, with the crash/corruption then triggered by locally generated discovery traffic and sendmsg() in the attacker's own network namespace.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker fully controls both the bad MTU value and the discovery packet that creates the link, so the truncation and subsequent divide-by-zero or undersized-fragment path trigger deterministically on every attempt.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- Both netlink ops are gated by GENL_UNS_ADMIN_PERM, i.e. CAP_NET_ADMIN in the owning user namespace, which any unprivileged user obtains via `unshare -Urn`; the commit message explicitly reports the crash reproduced as an unprivileged user through a user namespace.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The attacker performs every step (bearer setup, MTU configuration, packet injection, sendmsg) with no action from any other user or administrator.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The truncated MTU corrupts only kernel state within the same kernel security authority; no VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary is crossed.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- Truncated MTUs below the TIPC header size propagate into tipc_msg_build() as pktmax, driving negative fragment remainders and oversized copies into undersized skbs; the resulting heap corruption and adjacent-object exposure can be leveraged to read kernel memory.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- The undersized-fragment path writes INT_H_SIZE plus header bytes and then a negative-length (huge unsigned) user copy into a buffer allocated at the truncated MTU size, giving an attacker-controlled linear heap overflow suitable for control-flow hijacking.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- MTU values truncating to under 20 make tipc_link_set_queue_limits() divide by zero inside tipc_link_create(), which runs in softirq context from tipc_udp_recv()/tipc_disc_rcv(), producing a kernel oops that is typically fatal in interrupt context.