CVE-2026-43080
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: l2tp: Drop large packets with UDP encap syzbot reported a WARN on my patch series [1]. The actual issue is an overflow of 16-bit UDP length field, and it exists in the upstream code. My series added a debug WARN with an overflow check that exposed the issue, that's why syzbot tripped on my patches, rather than on upstream code. syzbot's repro: r0 = socket$pppl2tp(0x18, 0x1, 0x1) r1 = socket$inet6_udp(0xa, 0x2, 0x0) connect$inet6(r1, &(0x7f00000000c0)={0xa, 0x0, 0x0, @loopback, 0xfffffffc}, 0x1c) connect$pppl2tp(r0, &(0x7f0000000240)=@pppol2tpin6={0x18, 0x1, {0x0, r1, 0x4, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, {0xa, 0x4e22, 0xffff, @ipv4={'\x00', '\xff\xff', @empty}}}}, 0x32) writev(r0, &(0x7f0000000080)=[{&(0x7f0000000000)="ee", 0x34000}], 0x1) It basically sends an oversized (0x34000 bytes) PPPoL2TP packet with UDP encapsulation, and l2tp_xmit_core doesn't check for overflows when it assigns the UDP length field. The value gets trimmed to 16 bites. Add an overflow check that drops oversized packets and avoids sending packets with trimmed UDP length to the wire. syzbot's stack trace (with my patch applied): len >= 65536u WARNING: ./include/linux/udp.h:38 at udp_set_len_short include/linux/udp.h:38 [inline], CPU#1: syz.0.17/5957 WARNING: ./include/linux/udp.h:38 at l2tp_xmit_core net/l2tp/l2tp_core.c:1293 [inline], CPU#1: syz.0.17/5957 WARNING: ./include/linux/udp.h:38 at l2tp_xmit_skb+0x1204/0x18d0 net/l2tp/l2tp_core.c:1327, CPU#1: syz.0.17/5957 Modules linked in: CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 5957 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(full) Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS 1.16.2-debian-1.16.2-1 04/01/2014 RIP: 0010:udp_set_len_short include/linux/udp.h:38 [inline] RIP: 0010:l2tp_xmit_core net/l2tp/l2tp_core.c:1293 [inline] RIP: 0010:l2tp_xmit_skb+0x1204/0x18d0 net/l2tp/l2tp_core.c:1327 Code: 0f 0b 90 e9 21 f9 ff ff e8 e9 05 ec f6 90 0f 0b 90 e9 8d f9 ff ff e8 db 05 ec f6 90 0f 0b 90 e9 cc f9 ff ff e8 cd 05 ec f6 90 <0f> 0b 90 e9 de fa ff ff 44 89 f1 80 e1 07 80 c1 03 38 c1 0f 8c 4f RSP: 0018:ffffc90003d67878 EFLAGS: 00010293 RAX: ffffffff8ad985e3 RBX: ffff8881a6400090 RCX: ffff8881697f0000 RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000034010 RDI: 000000000000ffff RBP: dffffc0000000000 R08: 0000000000000003 R09: 0000000000000004 R10: dffffc0000000000 R11: fffff520007acf00 R12: ffff8881baf20900 R13: 0000000000034010 R14: ffff8881a640008e R15: ffff8881760f7000 FS: 000055557e81f500(0000) GS:ffff8882a9467000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 CR2: 0000200000033000 CR3: 00000001612f4000 CR4: 00000000000006f0 Call Trace: <TASK> pppol2tp_sendmsg+0x40a/0x5f0 net/l2tp/l2tp_ppp.c:302 sock_sendmsg_nosec net/socket.c:727 [inline] __sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:742 [inline] sock_write_iter+0x503/0x550 net/socket.c:1195 do_iter_readv_writev+0x619/0x8c0 fs/read_write.c:-1 vfs_writev+0x33c/0x990 fs/read_write.c:1059 do_writev+0x154/0x2e0 fs/read_write.c:1105 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0x14d/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f RIP: 0033:0x7f636479c629 Code: ff c3 66 2e 0f 1f 84 00 00 00 00 00 0f 1f 44 00 00 48 89 f8 48 89 f7 48 89 d6 48 89 ca 4d 89 c2 4d 89 c8 4c 8b 4c 24 08 0f 05 <48> 3d 01 f0 ff ff 73 01 c3 48 c7 c1 e8 ff ff ff f7 d8 64 89 01 48 RSP: 002b:00007ffffd4241c8 EFLAGS: 00000246 ORIG_RAX: 0000000000000014 RAX: ffffffffffffffda RBX: 00007f6364a15fa0 RCX: 00007f636479c629 RDX: 0000000000000001 RSI: 0000200000000080 RDI: 0000000000000003 RBP: 00007f6364832b39 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: 0000000000000000 R10: 0000000000000000 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: 0000000000000000 R13: 00007f6364a15fac R14: 00007f6364a15fa0 R15: 00007f6364a15fa0 </TASK> [1]: https://lore.kernel.org/all/[email protected]/
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-674CVE-2026-43080 is a Uncontrolled Recursion vulnerability
What is Uncontrolled Recursion?
The product does not properly control the amount of recursion which triggers resource consumption. Learn more on MITRE CWE
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
2.6.23
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.258,
5.15.209,
6.1.175,
6.6.136,
6.12.83,
6.18.24,
6.19.14,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-43080 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/02d787fd0922c71c0264449fe82d35983613e4e5
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77c1489398c85a844f90205f5e76fd6bc8bb4089
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86534c97abd6365a9a021fd767a2023e63c44469
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-43080?
CVE-2026-43080 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as an Uncontrolled Recursion flaw (CWE-674) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.23 onward and has been patched in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. CVE-2026-43080 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-43080?
CVE-2026-43080 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-2026-43080?
Yes — CVE-2026-43080 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.23 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-43080 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-43080 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
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What is Uncontrolled Recursion (CWE-674)?
The product does not properly control the amount of recursion which triggers resource consumption. View CWE-674 on MITRE CWE →