CVE-2026-45843
HighIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: slip: bound decode() reads against the compressed packet length slhc_uncompress() parses a VJ-compressed TCP header by advancing a pointer through the packet via decode() and pull16(). Neither helper bounds-checks against isize, and decode() masks its return with & 0xffff so it can never return the -1 that callers test for -- those error paths are dead code. A short compressed frame whose change byte requests optional fields lets decode() read past the end of the packet. The over-read bytes are folded into the cached cstate and reflected into subsequent reconstructed packets. Make decode() and pull16() take the packet end pointer and return -1 when exhausted. Add a bounds check before the TCP-checksum read. The existing == -1 tests now do what they were always meant to.
CVSS 3.1 score
8.2
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
2.6.12
and later are affected. Fixed in
5.10.258,
5.15.209,
6.1.175,
6.6.141,
6.12.91,
6.18.33,
7.0.10,
7.1-rc1
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-45843 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/0511ecb00e61bf28e2fec4bb41fcce385c3a3b2d
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/335957df4ed60f02a2ec0432fbedbf0cc7241d8b
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/37537e42e6df387398bee85cb85070cc80bb1e10
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-45843?
CVE-2026-45843 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.2 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.12 onward and has been patched in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. CVE-2026-45843 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-2026-45843?
CVE-2026-45843 has a CVSS score of 8.2 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:N. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-45843?
Yes — CVE-2026-45843 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.12 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-45843 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-45843 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.