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CVE-2026-89561
ipv6: rpl: fix NULL dereference of idev in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv()
Published 2026-09-11 (37 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/ipv6. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-89561 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 | vulnerable | 6.1.190-1 | No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6528-1 · 2026-09-29 · text | 6.12.111-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6528-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-29, in 6.12.111-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.6-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.6-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4817-1 · 2026-10-04 · text | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4817-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-04, in 6.12.111-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() dereferences idev from __in6_dev_get() without a NULL check when reading idev->cnf.rpl_seg_enabled. When the device's MTU drops below IPV6_MIN_MTU, addrconf_ifdown() clears dev->ip6_ptr through RCU_INIT_POINTER(). A packet that passed the idev check in ip6_rcv_core() can then reach ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() with dev->ip6_ptr already NULL. Reproduced by flooding the receiving interface with ping6 traffic while flapping its MTU between 1500 and 1200: BUG: KASAN: null-ptr-deref in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv+0xb3/0x1070 Read of size 4 at addr 00000000000006b4 by task ping6/394 CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 394 Comm: ping6 Not tainted 7.2.0-rc7-micro-vm-dev-00095-g24ef02f934ee #240 PREEMPT(full) Call Trace: <IRQ> kasan_report+0xc6/0x100 ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv+0xb3/0x1070 ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x759/0x9a0 ip6_input_finish+0xa8/0x1b0 ip6_input+0xe1/0x490 ipv6_rcv+0x33d/0x460 __netif_receive_skb_one_core+0xd6/0x130 process_backlog+0x2cc/0xa00 __napi_poll.constprop.0+0x56/0x270 net_rx_action+0x327/0x730 handle_softirqs+0x11e/0x630 do_softirq+0xb3/0xf0 </IRQ> Both ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() and ipv6_srh_rcv() are called only from ipv6_rthdr_rcv(), which already has an idev lookup. Fix the NULL dereference on the RPL path by checking idev in ipv6_rthdr_rcv(), before it calls either function. The callees take idev as an argument and no longer call __in6_dev_get(), so the packet is now dropped in one place, with SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6DISABLED on both paths.
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/ipv6/exthdrs.c
- What this is
- NETWORKING [IPv4/IPv6]MAINTAINERS section matched on net/ipv6/exthdrs.c · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_IPV6 /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.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this code. Every release below compiles the affected file into the kernels it ships.
- bookworm, trixie, forky, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12y
- y
- built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it
- Build switch
- CONFIG_IPV6
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
- 2026-09-11 (37 days ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- network (AV:N)source
- EPSS
- 0.44%, higher than 36.8% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/ipv6
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.7 | 6.12.111 | e7123e10c86e |
| 5.7 | 6.18.50 | 63f50e9f90d0 |
| 5.7 | 7.2.4 | eab3a917cdcb |
| 5.7 | 7.3 | f826df95332c |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4817-1 | 2026-10-04 | bookworm 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DSA-6528-1 | 2026-09-29 | trixie 6.12.111-1 | 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
- ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() runs on the IPv6 local-delivery path (ipv6_rcv → ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu → ipv6_rthdr_rcv) for any unicast packet with Routing Header type 3; a remote attacker can deliver such packets over the network with no local access.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker drives both sides of the race by flooding type-3 routing-header packets while concurrently dropping the ingress MTU below IPV6_MIN_MTU or deleting the netdev, and the window is large because ip6_rcv_core() drops RCU before extension-header processing.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- Sending an unauthenticated IPv6 packet with a type-3 routing header requires no credentials; the NULL deref occurs before the rpl_seg_enabled check, and ip6_ptr teardown also occurs during ordinary container/veth lifecycle on shared hosts.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation needs only delivery of IPv6 routing-header packets during concurrent interface MTU/teardown; no victim action such as opening a file, mounting a filesystem, or clicking a link is required.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- A successful trigger oopses the same host kernel that processes the packet and does not cross a VM, hypervisor, IOMMU, or other security-authority boundary.
- C:NConfidentiality impact, none
- The fault is a pure NULL pointer read of idev->cnf.rpl_seg_enabled at a fixed offset, causing an immediate page fault with no use-after-free, out-of-bounds read, or other information-disclosure primitive.
- I:NIntegrity impact, none
- This is a read-side NULL dereference only; there is no memory write, type confusion, or control-flow hijack primitive beyond crashing the kernel.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- The NULL dereference occurs in softirq context during IPv6 receive and produces a kernel oops or panic, as shown by the KASAN report in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv, fully denying availability on the affected system.