CVE-2026-97984
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ipv6: Fix UDP length overflow with PMTU discover and big MTU This commit bounds cork->base.fragsize to IP6_MAX_MTU for UDP sockets to avoid a possible overflow of UDP length that triggers a WARN in udp_set_len_short when setsockopt IPV6_MTU_DISCOVER is set to IPV6_PMTUDISC_DO or IPV6_PMTUDISC_PROBE, and a large packet is sent over a netdev with an unusually large MTU. Steps to reproduce (included in the new selftest): 1. Set device MTU bigger than IP6_MAX_MTU. cork->base.fragsize will be set to that MTU in ip6_setup_cork. 2. Set IPV6_MTU_DISCOVER to IPV6_PMTUDISC_PROBE or IPV6_PMTUDISC_DO. It lets maxnonfragsize be set to device MTU (cork->fragsize) in __ip6_append_data, rather than to IP6_MAX_MTU. 3. Send 65528 bytes of payload (+8 bytes of UDP header, +40 bytes of IPv6 header). Device MTU allows it (it's only one byte bigger than IP6_MAX_MTU, and the device MTU is bigger than that). 4. The UDP length in the built packet is 65536, which overflows the 16-bit length field and triggers the WARN in udp_set_len_short. To avoid breaking sending UDP jumbograms over raw IPv6 sockets, limit the change to UDP sockets only. The original overflow bug with IPv6 and IPV6_PMTUDISC_DO seems to predate git history (verified reproduction on 2.6.21), was fixed later, and then reappeared in commit 427faee167bc ("net: ipv6: introduce ip6_dst_mtu_maybe_forward"), which is chosen as the Fixes tag here. The overflow with IPV6_PMTUDISC_PROBE reproduces since its introduction in commit 628a5c561890 ("[INET]: Add IP(V6)_PMTUDISC_RPOBE").
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
5.15
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.6.158,
6.12.111,
6.18.53,
7.2.7,
7.3-rc3
and their respective stable series.
References
5 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-97984?
CVE-2026-97984 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15 onward and has been patched in 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53 and others. CVE-2026-97984 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-97984?
Yes. CVE-2026-97984 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-97984 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-97984 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.