In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv4: raw: reject IP_HDRINCL packets with ihl < 5
raw_send_hdrinc() validates that the caller-supplied IPv4 header
fits within the message length:
iphlen = iph->ihl * 4;
err = -EINVAL;
if (iphlen > length)
goto error_free;
if (iphlen >= sizeof(*iph)) {
/* fix up saddr, tot_len, id, csum, transport_header */
}
It does not, however, reject ihl < 5. For such a packet the
"if (iphlen >= sizeof(*iph))" branch is skipped, leaving the
crafted iphdr untouched, but the packet is still handed to
__ip_local_out() and onward. Downstream consumers that read
iph->ihl assume a sane value: net/ipv4/ah4.c:ah_output() in
particular subtracts sizeof(struct iphdr) from top_iph->ihl * 4
and passes the (signed-int-negative, then cast to size_t)
result to memcpy(), producing an OOB access of length close to
SIZE_MAX and a host kernel panic.
An IPv4 header with ihl < 5 is malformed by definition (RFC 791:
"Internet Header Length is the length of the internet header in
32 bit words ... Note that the minimum value for a correct header
is 5."). The kernel should not be willing to inject such a
packet into its own output path.
Reject "iphlen < sizeof(*iph)" alongside the existing
"iphlen > length" check. This matches the principle that locally
constructed packets that re-enter the IP stack must pass the same
basic sanity tests that a foreign packet would be subjected to.
Once this lands, the "if (iphlen >= sizeof(*iph))" wrapper around
the fixup branch becomes redundant; left in place to keep the
patch minimal and backport-friendly. A follow-up can unwrap it.
Note that commit 86f4c90a1c5c ("ipv4, ipv6: ensure raw socket
message is big enough to hold an IP header") ensures the message
buffer is large enough to hold an iphdr, but does not constrain
the self-reported iph->ihl.
Reachability: the malformed packet source is any caller with
CAP_NET_RAW, including an unprivileged process in a user+net
namespace on a kernel with CONFIG_USER_NS=y. The reproduced AH
crash also requires a matching xfrm AH policy on the outgoing
route; a container granted CAP_NET_ADMIN can install that state
and policy in its netns. Loopback bypasses xfrm_output, so the
trigger uses a real netdev.
Reproduced on UML + KASAN: kernel-mode fault at addr 0x0 with
memcpy_orig at the crash site. Same shape reproduces inside a
rootless Docker container with --cap-add NET_ADMIN on a stock
distro kernel.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-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 2026-10-27). 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; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 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 low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (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; 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 total (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