In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/ipv6: release expired exception dst cached in socket
Dst objects get leaked in ip6_negative_advice() when this function is
executed for an expired IPv6 route located in the exception table. There
are several conditions that must be fulfilled for the leak to occur:
* an ICMPv6 packet indicating a change of the MTU for the path is received,
resulting in an exception dst being created
* a TCP connection that uses the exception dst for routing packets must
start timing out so that TCP begins retransmissions
* after the exception dst expires, the FIB6 garbage collector must not run
before TCP executes ip6_negative_advice() for the expired exception dst
When TCP executes ip6_negative_advice() for an exception dst that has
expired and if no other socket holds a reference to the exception dst, the
refcount of the exception dst is 2, which corresponds to the increment
made by dst_init() and the increment made by the TCP socket for which the
connection is timing out. The refcount made by the socket is never
released. The refcount of the dst is decremented in sk_dst_reset() but
that decrement is counteracted by a dst_hold() intentionally placed just
before the sk_dst_reset() in ip6_negative_advice(). After
ip6_negative_advice() has finished, there is no other object tied to the
dst. The socket lost its reference stored in sk_dst_cache and the dst is
no longer in the exception table. The exception dst becomes a leaked
object.
As a result of this dst leak, an unbalanced refcount is reported for the
loopback device of a net namespace being destroyed under kernels that do
not contain e5f80fcf869a ("ipv6: give an IPv6 dev to blackhole_netdev"):
unregister_netdevice: waiting for lo to become free. Usage count = 2
Fix the dst leak by removing the dst_hold() in ip6_negative_advice(). The
patch that introduced the dst_hold() in ip6_negative_advice() was
92f1655aa2b22 ("net: fix __dst_negative_advice() race"). But 92f1655aa2b22
merely refactored the code with regards to the dst refcount so the issue
was present even before 92f1655aa2b22. The bug was introduced in
54c1a859efd9f ("ipv6: Don't drop cache route entry unless timer actually
expired.") where the expired cached route is deleted and the sk_dst_cache
member of the socket is set to NULL by calling dst_negative_advice() but
the refcount belonging to the socket is left unbalanced.
The IPv4 version - ipv4_negative_advice() - is not affected by this bug.
When the TCP connection times out ipv4_negative_advice() merely resets the
sk_dst_cache of the socket while decrementing the refcount of the
exception dst.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.7% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-25). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Attend at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines at low or medium mission impact and sooner than that at high.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; 60 days if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable yes (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it