CVE-2026-98968
HighIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path An skb queued in a qdisc can outlive the tunnel it references through a raw pointer in skb->cb. For example, with igmp_qrv set to 1 on the relay a tunnel lives for 135s, so a netem delay of 180s on the amt device outlives it; when the tunnel expires and is freed, the subsequent dequeue triggers a use-after-free in amt_dev_xmit(). BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in amt_dev_xmit+0x2763/0x2e20 Call Trace: amt_dev_xmit+0x2763/0x2e20 [drivers/net/amt.c:1262] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x22f/0x620 sch_direct_xmit+0x12e/0xac0 netem_dequeue+0x333/0xc50 net_tx_action+0x35c/0xa60 amt_send_igmp_gq() and amt_send_mld_gq() are only called from amt_request_handler(), inside the rcu_read_lock_bh() section of amt_rcv(). amt_request_handler() already has the tunnel the query is for: it found or created it inside that section. Queuing the query with dev_queue_xmit() only leads back into amt_dev_xmit(), which strips the Ethernet header and calls amt_send_membership_query() for that tunnel. Make that call directly from the two senders instead, the same way amt_send_advertisement() transmits from the receive path. The query never waits in a qdisc, the tunnel is only dereferenced inside the RCU section that found or created it, and nothing is stored in skb->cb, so no lookup or refcount is needed. Remove the query branch of amt_dev_xmit(), amt_skb_cb() and struct amt_skb_cb, which have no users left. Behaviour changes: - The relay's own General Queries no longer pass through the amt device's egress path: its qdisc, tc egress (clsact/tcx), the netfilter egress hook and packet taps. They are still visible as UDP on the underlay. - A query that is sent successfully is no longer counted as tx_dropped. The old query branch left through the unlock label, which counted every sent query as dropped. - A query that reaches amt_dev_xmit() on a relay from elsewhere, such as a userspace querier, is now dropped at the IGMP/MLD type switch. Before, it trusted whatever skb->cb held, and a NULL tunnel hit the WARN_ON(1).
CVSS 3.1 score
8.1
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
5.16
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
-
What is CVE-2026-98968?
CVE-2026-98968 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.1 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.16 onward and has been patched in 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57 and others. CVE-2026-98968 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
-
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-98968?
CVE-2026-98968 has a CVSS score of 8.1 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-98968?
Yes. CVE-2026-98968 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
-
Is CVE-2026-98968 actively exploited?
No. CVE-2026-98968 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.