CVE-2026-98955
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: flow_dissector: avoid u16 truncation of skb->len when computing thoff __skb_flow_dissect() computes key_control->thoff using: key_control->thoff = min_t(u16, nhoff, skb ? skb->len : hlen); min_t(u16, ...) casts both arguments to u16 before comparing them. Whenever skb->len (or hlen) modulo 65536 is smaller than nhoff, the truncated length wins and thoff is set to a bogus small value, even when the dissection succeeded. For example, an IPv4/TCP frame with skb->len == 65540 and nhoff == 34 gets thoff == 4, so callers such as skb_probe_transport_header() point the transport header inside the Ethernet header. Such skbs are not exotic: - At the time of commit d0c081b49137 ("flow_dissector: properly cap thoff field"), AF_PACKET with PACKET_VNET_HDR could already build GSO skbs larger than 64KB (MTU checks are skipped for GSO, and alloc_skb_with_frags() accepted up to MAX_SKB_FRAGS (17) order-0 pages on top of the linear part). - BIG TCP now makes skbs larger than 64KB common. - The following patch makes tun_get_user() dissect IFF_TAP frames before eth_type_trans() pulls the Ethernet header, so a GSO frame carrying a 65522..65535 byte L3 packet will be dissected with skb->len in [65536, 65549]. Compare as u32 instead. If the resulting offset cannot be represented in the u16 key_control->thoff, cap it to U16_MAX and report the dissection as failed rather than silently returning a wrong transport offset. thoff is still set on failure, as some callers (such as eth_get_headlen()) use it regardless of the return value.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
4.4.114,
4.9.79,
4.14.16,
4.15
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.6.160,
6.12.113,
6.18.57,
7.2.11,
7.3
and their respective stable series.
References
5 totalFrequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-98955?
CVE-2026-98955 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.4.114 onward and has been patched in 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57 and others. CVE-2026-98955 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-2026-98955?
Yes. CVE-2026-98955 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.4.114 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-98955 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-98955 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.