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CVE-2026-98374
tcp: fix use-after-free of retransmit_skb_hint in tcp_send_synack()
Published 2026-10-07 (12 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/ipv4. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-98374 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-6568-1 · 2026-10-16 · text | 6.12.113-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6568-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-16, in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.2.9-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.2.9-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.9-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
When tcp_send_synack() replaces the cloned SYN skb at the head of the retransmit queue with a copy, it frees the original with tcp_rtx_queue_unlink_and_free() and only repairs tp->highest_sack. tp->retransmit_skb_hint keeps pointing at the freed skbuff_fclone_cache object. The dangling hint is read in tcp_verify_retransmit_hint() and used as the root of the rbtree walk in tcp_xmit_retransmit_queue(). An unprivileged TFO client (sendmsg(MSG_FASTOPEN)) can arm the hint with an attacker-supplied ICMP fragmentation-needed message, after which a simultaneous open frees the armed SYN skb: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in tcp_mark_skb_lost (net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:1316) Read of size 4 at addr ffff88800604d928 by task swapper/1/0 Call Trace: tcp_mark_skb_lost (net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:1316) tcp_simple_retransmit (net/ipv4/tcp_input.c:3158) tcp_v4_err (net/ipv4/tcp_ipv4.c:587) Sync the hint to the copy.
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/ipv4/tcp_output.c
- What this is
- NETWORKING [TCP]MAINTAINERS section matched on net/ipv4/tcp*.c · netdev@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Check it on the machine
grep -w CONFIG_INET /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, sidy
- y
- built into the kernel image on every flavour - only a patch removes it
- Build switch
- CONFIG_INET
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
- 2026-10-07 (12 days ago)source
- CVSS
- no vector published, unrated
- Attack vector
- not published
- EPSS
- 0.16%, higher than 4.9% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- net/ipv4
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.11 | 5.15.222 | fad6d429651e |
| 5.11 | 6.1.189 | c5b4da1f403a |
| 5.11 | 6.6.158 | 71d45049b0d6 |
| 5.11 | 6.12.112 | e3ea71cb1408 |
| 5.11 | 6.18.55 | 631aa4cb4509 |
| 5.11 | 7.2.9 | 0f87720c7e4b |
| 5.11 | 7.3 | fe99bbeee5c5 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4841-1 | 2026-10-17 | bookworm 6.1.190-1 | tracker |
| DSA-6568-1 | 2026-10-16 | trixie 6.12.113-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-98374, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.