In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sctp: move SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY right after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT
A null-ptr-deref was reported in the SCTP transmit path when SCTP-AUTH key
initialization fails:
==================================================================
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000018-0x000000000000001f]
CPU: 0 PID: 16 Comm: ksoftirqd/0 Tainted: G W 6.6.0 #2
RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_bundle_auth net/sctp/output.c:264 [inline]
RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_append_chunk+0xb36/0x1260 net/sctp/output.c:401
Call Trace:
sctp_packet_transmit_chunk+0x31/0x250 net/sctp/output.c:189
sctp_outq_flush_data+0xa29/0x26d0 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1111
sctp_outq_flush+0xc80/0x1240 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1217
sctp_cmd_interpreter.isra.0+0x19a5/0x62c0 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1787
sctp_side_effects net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1198 [inline]
sctp_do_sm+0x1a3/0x670 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1169
sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x33e/0x640 net/sctp/associola.c:1052
sctp_inq_push+0x1dd/0x280 net/sctp/inqueue.c:88
sctp_rcv+0x11ae/0x3100 net/sctp/input.c:243
sctp6_rcv+0x3d/0x60 net/sctp/ipv6.c:1127
The issue is triggered when sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key() fails in
sctp_sf_do_5_1C_ack() while processing an INIT_ACK. In this case, the
command sequence is currently:
- SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT
- SCTP_CMD_TIMER_STOP (T1_INIT)
- SCTP_CMD_TIMER_START (T1_COOKIE)
- SCTP_CMD_NEW_STATE (COOKIE_ECHOED)
- SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY
- SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO
If SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY fails, asoc->shkey remains NULL, while
asoc->peer.auth_capable and asoc->peer.peer_chunks have already been set by
SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT. This allows a DATA chunk with auth = 1 and shkey = NULL
to be queued by sctp_datamsg_from_user().
Since command interpretation stops on failure, no COOKIE_ECHO should been
sent via SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO. However, the T1_COOKIE timer has already
been started, and it may enqueue a COOKIE_ECHO into the outqueue later. As
a result, the DATA chunk can be transmitted together with the COOKIE_ECHO
in sctp_outq_flush_data(), leading to the observed issue.
Similar to the other places where it calls sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key()
right after sctp_process_init(), this patch moves the SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY
immediately after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT, before stopping T1_INIT and starting
T1_COOKIE. This ensures that if shared key generation fails, authenticated
DATA cannot be sent. It also allows the T1_INIT timer to retransmit INIT,
giving the client another chance to process INIT_ACK and retry key setup.
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
- 0.1% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-24). 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 every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade 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 every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (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)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (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