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. 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?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2026-22988. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.

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

Not yet patched

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. No fixed version recorded yet.

Affected from

≥ 6.1.160 ≥ 6.6.120 ≥ 6.12.64 ≥ 6.18.4

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-22988 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/029935507d0af6553c45380fbf6feecf756fd226
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/393525dee5c39acff8d6705275d7fcaabcfb7f0a
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70bddc16491ef4681f3569b3a2c80309a3edcdd1
Patch

7 patch commits total 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

Not yet patched

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 . 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?

No patch is currently available for CVE-2026-22988. Monitor the NIST NVD and your Linux distribution's security advisories for updates.
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.