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CVE-2026-97523
mptcp: close race between scheduler and state change
Published 2026-09-25 (24 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/mptcp. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-97523 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-4841-1 · 2026-10-17 · text | 6.1.190-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4841-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-17, in 6.1.190-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| 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 | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.7-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.7-1. 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
The mptcp scheduler may race with subflow sockets state change: data transmission on the selected socket may fail and a later release could try to use mss_now reset to 0 for a divide operation. Address the issue by explicitly checking for the critical scenario.
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/mptcp/protocol.c
- What this is
- NETWORKING [MPTCP]MAINTAINERS section matched on net/mptcp/ · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_MPTCP /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_MPTCP
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
- 2026-09-25 (24 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
- 0.67%, higher than 51.0% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/mptcp
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.15.190 | 5.15.222 | d74b2e26b54a |
| 6.0 | 6.1.189 | 5883ae880f51 |
| 6.0 | 6.6.158 | 0a926b5df8ef |
| 6.0 | 6.12.111 | 8f11430d51ff |
| 6.0 | 6.18.53 | a09c87abf10a |
| 6.0 | 7.2.7 | 4c856f3c151a |
| 6.0 | 7.3 | 42064de57fb8 |
| 5.19.4 | 0 | 0 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| 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
- mptcp_push_release is reached from __mptcp_push_pending after mptcp_sched_get_send. A remote MPTCP peer changes the selected subflow's sk_state via TCP RST/FIN (tcp_v4_rcv/tcp_rcv_established/tcp_reset) without the msk lock, and a DSS DATA_ACK (mptcp_incoming_options→ack_update_msk) sets MPTCP_PUSH_PENDING so mptcp_release_cb calls that push.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- The attacker creates both halves of the race: they induce __mptcp_push_pending (DSS DATA_ACK, or eliciting mptcp_sendmsg) so mptcp_subflow_get_send snapshots __tcp_can_send without the ssk lock, then RST/FIN/MP_FAIL that subflow before lock_sock; the window is attacker-timed and retryable, not an uninfluencable layout.
- PR:NPrivileges required, none
- Completing MP_CAPABLE to an IPPROTO_MPTCP listener needs no account or capability; net.mptcp.enabled defaults to 1 in mptcp pernet init, and tcp_rcv_established/mptcp_incoming_options apply no application credentials before the DATA_ACK and RST/FIN that cause this race.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- The attacker sends the DATA_ACK and RST/FIN themselves and supplies the request that makes the service call mptcp_sendmsg; no victim mount, click, or extra confirmation is required.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- The divide-error runs in tcp_tso_autosize/tcp_set_skb_tso_segs on the host kernel MPTCP/TCP socket; it does not cross a VM, IOMMU, or sandbox boundary.
- C:NConfidentiality impact, none
- When __tcp_can_send fails in mptcp_sendmsg_frag, info->mss_now stays 0 and tcp_push divides by zero; that CPU exception does not read freed objects or out-of-range kernel memory.
- I:NIntegrity impact, none
- tcp_write_xmit aborts on the divide in tcp_tso_autosize/tcp_set_skb_tso_segs before modifying TCP control blocks or packet contents; this is not an OOB/UAF write or control-flow hijack.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- bytes/mss_now in tcp_tso_autosize and DIV_ROUND_UP(skb->len, mss_now) in tcp_set_skb_tso_segs raise a kernel divide-error oops/panic from mptcp_push_release, and the attacker can repeat it across MPTCP connections.