inet: frags: invalidate queues before flushing them
Why It Matters
Analysis dossierWhy It Matters
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: inet: frags: invalidate queues before flushing them fqdir_pre_exit() flushes the skbs from incomplete queues without changing their completion state. A fragment which found a queue before high_thresh was cleared can then acquire the queue lock and reuse stale reassembly metadata. A queue concurrently killed after fqdir->dead is set can instead become INET_FRAG_COMPLETE|INET_FRAG_HASH_DEAD while still holding its old skbs; skipping it because it is complete leaves those references behind until asynchronous fqdir teardown. For IPv6, stale metadata can make ip6_frag_reasm() use the old nhoffset with a new skb and access memory out of bounds. The resulting heap corruption can be leveraged for local privilege escalation when unprivileged network namespaces are available. Unflushed fragments can also keep conntrack references alive after the conntrack per-net cleanup point. Kill each incomplete queue, then flush every queue still owned by the dying rhashtable. HASH_DEAD identifies that ownership, while complete queues without it are already owned by another destroy path and must be left alone. Releasing a timer reference removed by inet_frag_kill() is deferred to inet_frag_putn(), after the queue lock is dropped. KASAN report: BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ipv6_frag_rcv (net/ipv6/reassembly.c:289 (discriminator 2) net/ipv6/reassembly.c:229 (discriminator 2) net/ipv6/reassembly.c:391 (discriminator 2)) Write of size 1 at addr ff110001039c6e00 by task poc/771 Call Trace: ? ipv6_frag_rcv (net/ipv6/reassembly.c:289 (discriminator 2) net/ipv6/reassembly.c:229 (discriminator 2) net/ipv6/reassembly.c:391 (discriminator 2)) ipv6_frag_rcv (net/ipv6/reassembly.c:289 (discriminator 2) net/ipv6/reassembly.c:229 (discriminator 2) net/ipv6/reassembly.c:391 (discriminator 2)) ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:479 (discriminator 5)) ip6_input_finish (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:534) ipv6_rcv (include/net/dst.h:480 (discriminator 3) net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:119 (discriminator 3) net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:109 (discriminator 3) include/linux/netfilter.h:325 (discriminator 3) include/linux/netfilter.h:319 (discriminator 3) net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:351 (discriminator 3)) packet_sendmsg (net/packet/af_packet.c:3110 net/packet/af_packet.c:3142) __x64_sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2883 net/socket.c:2880 net/socket.c:2880) The buggy address belongs to the object at ff110001039c6b40 which belongs to the cache skbuff_small_head of size 704 The buggy address is located 0 bytes to the right of allocated 704-byte region [ff110001039c6b40, ff110001039c6e00) BUG: KASAN: slab-out-of-bounds in ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:423 (discriminator 1)) Read of size 1 at addr ff110001039c6e08 by task poc/771 Call Trace: ? ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:423 (discriminator 1)) ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:423 (discriminator 1)) ip6_input_finish (net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:534) ipv6_rcv (include/net/dst.h:480 (discriminator 3) net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:119 (discriminator 3) net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:109 (discriminator 3) include/linux/netfilter.h:325 (discriminator 3) include/linux/netfilter.h:319 (discriminator 3) net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:351 (discriminator 3)) packet_sendmsg (net/packet/af_packet.c:3110 net/packet/af_packet.c:3142) __x64_sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2883 net/socket.c:2880 net/socket.c:2880) packet_sendmsg (net/packet/af_packet.c:2959 net/packet/af_packet.c:3053 net/packet/af_packet.c:3142) __x64_sys_sendmmsg (net/socket.c:2883 net/socket.c:2880 net/socket.c:2880) The buggy address belongs to the object at ff110001039c6b40 which belongs to the cache skbuff_small_head of size 704 The buggy address is located 8 bytes to the right of allocated 704-byte region [ff110001039c6b40, ff110001039c6e00)
High
Unknown
Unknown
Risk basis: SOC ecosystem technology relevance; HIGH severity; No confirmed exploitation signal in current enrichment
Affected Products & Remediation
1 source-backed product- azl3 kernel 6.6.157.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 · version range not provided by source · Microsoft MSRC · Source
Vendor or catalog guidance (source)
- Microsoft MSRC: Release Notes
Known exploitation (source facts)
Only what a source states. Unknown means no source has said either way; it is not "not exploited".
- CISA KEV
- Unknown
- Exploited (source statement)
- Unknown
- Publicly disclosed (source)
- Unknown
Suggested hunting (rule-based inference)
SecOps Signal recommendation (rule-based inference). These steps are hunting hypotheses from the vulnerability class; they do not state or imply that exploitation occurred here or anywhere.
Matched local-privilege-escalation (CVSS AV:L, CVSS PR:L)
Exposure
- Identify hosts reporting this CVE, prioritising shared or multi-user systems.Telemetry: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities · A local, low-privilege vector matters most where untrusted users can run code. · Rule local-privilege-escalation
Exploitation evidence
- Look for low-privileged processes spawning SYSTEM or root-level child processes on affected hosts.Telemetry: DeviceProcessEvents · Hunting hypothesis from the CVSS vector; privilege transitions are a focused starting point, not evidence of attack. · Rule local-privilege-escalation
Response
- Confirm the source-stated update on affected hosts.Telemetry: DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities · Host inventory can verify remediation. · Rule local-privilege-escalation
CISA KEV Record
CISA KEV status was not determined for this record.
Change History & Source Data
— No recorded material change
- CNA / source
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
- Record status · verification
- UPDATED · Unknown
- CPE
- Unknown
Evidence & Provenance
Linked by the query's stored exact CVE association. Review required tables and validation status before use.
DeviceTvmSoftwareVulnerabilities| where CveId == "CVE-2026-97602"| project DeviceId, DeviceName, OSPlatform, OSVersion, SoftwareVendor, SoftwareName, SoftwareVersion, CveId, VulnerabilitySeverityLevel, RecommendedSecurityUpdate, RecommendedSecurityUpdateId| sort by VulnerabilitySeverityLevel desc