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Linux Kernel CVE-2026-64024

| EUVDEUVD-2026-45597 CRITICAL
2026-07-19 Linux GHSA-h337-654q-329c
Critical
Disputed · 9.4 Vendor: Linux
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Severity by source

Sources disagree (Medium–Critical)
Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY
9.4 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
5.9 MEDIUM

Network-reachable but requires racing a drop path onto the same CPU (AC:H); impact is predictable ISN weakening connection integrity (I:H), with no confidentiality or availability loss.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE
CRITICAL
qualitative
Red Hat
7.0 MEDIUM
qualitative

vuln.today treats the vendor’s rating as authoritative. A higher third-party CVSS (e.g. CISA-ADP) is shown for transparency but does not drive the headline severity.

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

5
Analysis Generated
Jul 20, 2026 - 16:55 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Jul 20, 2026 - 15:22 NVD
9.4 (CRITICAL)
Patch available
Jul 19, 2026 - 17:03 EUVD
CVE Published
Jul 19, 2026 - 15:39 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.4
CVE Published
Jul 19, 2026 - 15:39 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tcp: fix stale per-CPU tcp_tw_isn leak enabling ISN prediction

Blamed commit moved the TIME_WAIT-derived ISN from the skb control block to a per-CPU variable, assuming the value would always be consumed by tcp_conn_request() for the same packet that wrote it. That assumption is violated by multiple drop paths between the producer (__this_cpu_write(tcp_tw_isn, isn) in tcp_v{4,6}_rcv()) and the consumer (tcp_conn_request()):

  • min_ttl / min_hopcount check
  • xfrm policy check
  • tcp_inbound_hash() MD5/AO mismatch
  • tcp_filter() eBPF/SO_ATTACH_FILTER drop
  • th->syn && th->fin discard in tcp_rcv_state_process() TCP_LISTEN
  • psp_sk_rx_policy_check() in tcp_v{4,6}_do_rcv()
  • tcp_checksum_complete() in tcp_v{4,6}_do_rcv()
  • tcp_v{4,6}_cookie_check() returning NULL

When a packet is dropped on any of these paths, tcp_tw_isn is left set.

The next SYN processed on the same CPU then consumes the non zero value in tcp_conn_request(), receiving a potentially predictable ISN.

This patch moves back tcp_tw_isn to skb->cb[], getting rid of the per-cpu variable.

Note that tcp_v{4,6}_fill_cb() do not set it.

Very litle impact on overall code size/complexity:

$ scripts/bloat-o-meter -t vmlinux.old vmlinux.new add/remove: 0/0 grow/shrink: 2/1 up/down: 8/-15 (-7) Function old new delta tcp_v6_rcv 3038 3042 +4 tcp_v4_rcv 3035 3039 +4 tcp_conn_request 2938 2923 -15 Total: Before=24436060, After=24436053, chg -0.00%

AnalysisAI

Predictable TCP Initial Sequence Number (ISN) generation in the Linux kernel's TCP stack (introduced in 6.10) stems from a stale per-CPU tcp_tw_isn value leaking between packets. A regression moved the TIME_WAIT-derived ISN from the per-skb control block to a per-CPU variable on the assumption it would always be consumed by the same packet; when that packet is instead dropped on any of several intermediate paths, the value persists and the next SYN handled on that CPU inherits a non-zero, potentially predictable ISN, weakening TCP connection integrity. NVD assigns CVSS 9.4, but EPSS is low at 0.17% (6th percentile), there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis, and it is not in CISA KEV.

Technical ContextAI

The flaw lives in the IPv4/IPv6 TCP receive path (tcp_v4_rcv/tcp_v6_rcv, tcp_conn_request). The Initial Sequence Number is a core anti-spoofing mechanism in TCP: it must be unpredictable so off-path attackers cannot guess valid sequence numbers to inject or spoof segments into a connection. The blamed commit optimized handling of the TIME_WAIT-recycled ISN by storing it in a per-CPU variable (__this_cpu_write(tcp_tw_isn, isn)) rather than in skb->cb[], expecting the producer in tcp_v{4,6}_rcv() and the consumer in tcp_conn_request() to always align on the same packet. Numerous drop paths break that invariant - min_ttl/min_hopcount checks, xfrm policy checks, tcp_inbound_hash() MD5/AO mismatch, tcp_filter() eBPF/SO_ATTACH_FILTER drops, SYN+FIN discard in TCP_LISTEN, psp_sk_rx_policy_check(), tcp_checksum_complete() failures, and tcp_v{4,6}_cookie_check() returning NULL - each of which leaves tcp_tw_isn set. This is fundamentally a use of insufficiently random / stale values for a security-sensitive field (CWE-330 class; CWE field marked N/A in source data). The fix reverts the ISN back into skb->cb[], eliminating the per-CPU variable entirely, with negligible code-size impact (-7 bytes per bloat-o-meter).

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade to Linux 6.18.34, 7.0.11, or 7.1 (or the corresponding distribution backport that includes stable commits e47f7060, 4affe063, or 1bbf0ced from git.kernel.org/stable/c/). Because the fix is a small, self-contained revert to skb->cb[], it backports cleanly and should be prioritized during the next kernel maintenance window. No configuration-level workaround fully removes the flaw since it resides in core TCP receive processing, but interim risk can be reduced by hardening against ISN-prediction abuse: enable and enforce TCP-AO or TCP-MD5 signatures on sensitive/long-lived sessions (e.g. BGP) so predictable ISNs cannot be leveraged for injection, and restrict exposure of the affected hosts behind stateful firewalls that validate sequence numbers - with the trade-off that TCP-AO/MD5 add configuration overhead and per-packet CPU cost, and firewall sequence validation does not help against on-path or same-segment attackers. Verify the backport landed via your distribution's advisory before treating hosts as remediated.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Critical
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Affected
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 Affected

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CVE-2026-64024 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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