What is CVE-2026-22988?

CVE-2026-22988 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.1.160 onward and patched in 6.1.161, 6.6.121, 6.12.66 and others. CVE-2026-22988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-22988?

CVE-2026-22988 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-22988?

Yes, CVE-2026-22988 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.161, 6.6.121, 6.12.66 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.1.160 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-22988 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-22988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-22988

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arp: do not assume dev_hard_header() does not change skb->head arp_create() is the only dev_hard_header() caller making assumption about skb->head being unchanged. A recent commit broke this assumption. Initialize @arp pointer after dev_hard_header() call.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-01-23

Last modified 2026-04-27

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.1.160, 6.6.120, 6.12.64, 6.18.4 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.1.161, 6.6.121, 6.12.66, 6.18.6 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.1.160 ≥ 6.6.120 ≥ 6.12.64 ≥ 6.18.4

Fixed in

✓ 6.1.161 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.121 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.66 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.6 6.18.x

References

7 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/029935507d0af6553c45380fbf6feecf756fd226

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/393525dee5c39acff8d6705275d7fcaabcfb7f0a

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70bddc16491ef4681f3569b3a2c80309a3edcdd1

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/949647e7771a4a01963fe953a96d81fba7acecf3

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c92510f5e3f82ba11c95991824a41e59a9c5ed81

Patch

Showing 5 of 7 references View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-22988

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-01-23

Modified 2026-04-27

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-22988?

CVE-2026-22988 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.1.160 onward and has been patched in 6.1.161, 6.6.121, 6.12.66 and others. CVE-2026-22988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-22988?

CVE-2026-22988 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-22988?

Yes. CVE-2026-22988 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.1.161, 6.6.121, 6.12.66 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.1.160 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-22988 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-22988 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.