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Linux Kernel CVE-2026-68302

| EUVDEUVD-2026-55403 CRITICAL
2026-08-10 Linux GHSA-9gq3-j787-cjhr
9.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY
9.8 CRITICAL
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI
8.1 HIGH

Network-reachable with no auth (AV:N/PR:N/UI:N), but AC:H because it requires AMT to be configured and winning an skb-head-reallocation race; full kernel-memory impact keeps C/I/A high.

3.1 AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.0 AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE
5.5 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

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

Lifecycle Timeline

5
Analysis Generated
Aug 14, 2026 - 03:14 vuln.today
CVSS changed
Aug 13, 2026 - 23:37 NVD
9.8 (CRITICAL)
Patch available
Aug 10, 2026 - 14:18 EUVD
CVE Published
Aug 10, 2026 - 12:02 cve.org
CRITICAL 9.8
CVE Published
Aug 10, 2026 - 12:02 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

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

amt: re-read skb header pointers after every pull

Several AMT receive and transmit paths cache a pointer into the skb head (ip_hdr(), ipv6_hdr(), eth_hdr() or the AMT message header) and then call a helper that can reallocate that head before the cached pointer is used again. pskb_may_pull(), ip_mc_may_pull(), ipv6_mc_may_pull(), iptunnel_pull_header(), ip_mc_check_igmp() and ipv6_mc_check_mld() can all free the old head and move the data, so a pointer taken before the call dangles afterwards and the later access is a use-after-free of the freed head.

The affected sites are:

amt_rcv() caches ip_hdr() before amt_parse_type() pulls, then reads iph->saddr.

amt_dev_xmit() caches ip_hdr()/ipv6_hdr() before ip_mc_check_igmp()/ ipv6_mc_check_mld() and pskb_may_pull(), then reads the group address.

amt_multicast_data_handler() caches eth_hdr() before pskb_may_pull(), then writes the L2 header.

amt_membership_query_handler() caches the AMT header, the outer and inner eth_hdr() and ip_hdr() before iptunnel_pull_header() and several pulls, then reads and writes them.

amt_igmpv3_report_handler() and amt_mldv2_report_handler() cache ip_hdr()/ipv6_hdr() and the current group record and read the record count from the report header inside the record loop, across the *_mc_may_pull() calls.

amt_update_handler() caches ip_hdr() and the AMT membership-update header before pskb_may_pull(), iptunnel_pull_header(), ip_mc_check_igmp() and the report handler, then reads iph->daddr and amtmu->nonce / amtmu->response_mac.

Fix each site by either snapshotting the scalar that is used after the pull before the first pull runs, or re-deriving the header pointer from the skb after the last pull that can move the head. Values that are stable across the pull (source and group address, the response MAC and nonce, the record count, the outer source MAC) are snapshotted; pointers that are written through or read repeatedly are re-derived.

AnalysisAI

Memory corruption in the Linux kernel's AMT (Automatic Multicast Tunneling) driver stems from multiple receive and transmit paths caching skb-head pointers (ip_hdr, ipv6_hdr, eth_hdr, and AMT message headers) that are then invalidated by pull/reallocation helpers, leaving dangling pointers that are dereferenced as a use-after-free of the freed skb head. Systems acting as AMT gateways or relays that process attacker-supplied tunneled multicast packets are affected across kernels from 5.16 up to the fixed stable releases. There is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and EPSS is low (0.17%, 6th percentile), but the flaw is a network-reachable kernel UAF that could enable denial of service or, potentially, code execution.

Technical ContextAI

The vulnerability lives in drivers/net/amt.c, which implements RFC 7450 Automatic Multicast Tunneling used to carry IP multicast across unicast-only network segments. The kernel socket buffer (skb) stores packet data in a contiguous 'head' region; helpers such as pskb_may_pull(), ip_mc_may_pull(), ipv6_mc_may_pull(), iptunnel_pull_header(), ip_mc_check_igmp() and ipv6_mc_check_mld() may reallocate and move that head to linearize additional bytes. The AMT code repeatedly took a pointer into the head (via ip_hdr()/ipv6_hdr()/eth_hdr() or the AMT header) and used it after one of these calls, so the pointer dangled - the classic use-after-free class (CWE-416), which the NVD/CWE field lists as N/A but the description unambiguously describes. Affected functions include amt_rcv(), amt_dev_xmit(), amt_multicast_data_handler(), amt_membership_query_handler(), amt_igmpv3_report_handler(), amt_mldv2_report_handler() and amt_update_handler(). CPE data identifies the affected product only generically as cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux, i.e. the mainline Linux kernel.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: upgrade to a fixed Linux stable release - 6.6.148, 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.6, or mainline 7.2-rc5 (or a later release on your branch that incorporates the corresponding stable commit). Distribution users should apply the vendor kernel update that references CVE-2026-68302 and reboot. The upstream fix re-reads skb header pointers after every pull and snapshots stable scalars, so no configuration change replicates it. If patching must be deferred, the most effective compensating control is to avoid or disable AMT: if the host does not need multicast tunneling, unload and blacklist the amt kernel module (rmmod amt; add to modprobe blacklist) - this removes the vulnerable code path entirely with no impact on non-AMT workloads. Where AMT is required, restrict which peers can reach the AMT relay/gateway UDP endpoint with firewall rules so only trusted upstream/downstream tunnel endpoints can deliver packets, accepting that this narrows but does not eliminate exposure and adds management overhead. Reference commits and advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9005b221cb1f9c3c1a2ef656fb0e8fa80c0a187e and https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68302.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Important
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-2026-68302 vulnerability details – vuln.today

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