Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Local-only exploitation requiring low privileges to trigger IPv6 xfrm6 error path; sole impact is availability via kernel resource exhaustion with no confidentiality or integrity compromise.
Primary rating from NVD.
CVSS VectorNVD
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionNVD
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv6: xfrm6: release dst on error in xfrm6_rcv_encap()
xfrm6_rcv_encap() performs an IPv6 route lookup when the skb does not already have a dst attached. ip6_route_input_lookup() returns a referenced dst entry even when the lookup resolves to an error route.
If dst->error is set, xfrm6_rcv_encap() drops the skb without attaching the dst to the skb and without releasing the reference returned by the lookup. Repeated packets hitting this path therefore leak dst entries.
Release the dst before jumping to the drop path.
AnalysisAI
Resource exhaustion via dst entry reference leak in the Linux kernel's IPv6 IPsec (xfrm6) receive path allows a local attacker with low privileges to cause a denial of service by exhausting kernel memory. The flaw exists in xfrm6_rcv_encap(), which calls ip6_route_input_lookup() returning a referenced dst entry even for error routes, but fails to release that reference before dropping the packet when dst->error is set. Repeated packets hitting this code path therefore accumulate unreleased dst references, ultimately crashing the system. No public exploit exists and this vulnerability is not in the CISA KEV list; EPSS exploitation probability is extremely low at 0.02% (5th percentile).
Technical ContextAI
The vulnerability resides in the Linux kernel's IPv6 transformation framework (xfrm6), specifically the xfrm6_rcv_encap() function responsible for processing incoming IPsec-encapsulated IPv6 packets. When an incoming skb lacks an attached dst entry, the function calls ip6_route_input_lookup() to perform a route lookup. The kernel's IPv6 routing layer returns a reference-counted dst entry even when the lookup resolves to a blackhole or error route - the caller is responsible for releasing this reference. The bug is a missing dst_release() call on the error path: when dst->error is non-zero, xfrm6_rcv_encap() jumps to its drop label without releasing the reference obtained from ip6_route_input_lookup(). This is a reference-counting resource leak (functionally equivalent to CWE-401, Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime, though no CWE is formally assigned). The affected CPE is cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel across multiple stable branches. Notably, the source data tags this as 'Information Disclosure,' which is inconsistent with both the vulnerability description and the CVSS vector (C:N/I:N/A:H); the actual impact is availability through kernel resource exhaustion.
RemediationAI
The primary fix is to upgrade the Linux kernel to a patched stable release: 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7, or 7.1-rc3, as documented in EUVD-2026-32799 and confirmed by the NVD advisory at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46172. The fix adds a dst_release() call before the drop path in xfrm6_rcv_encap(), which can be applied as a targeted backport from the git.kernel.org stable commits listed in the references. As a compensating control where immediate patching is not feasible, disabling IPv6 IPsec (xfrm6) encapsulation if it is not operationally required will fully prevent exploitation, though this removes IPsec tunnel functionality. Alternatively, deploying firewall rules at the perimeter to block encapsulated IPv6 traffic (e.g., UDP port 4500 for IKE/NAT-T, ESP protocol 50) to untrusted sources reduces the attack surface, though this is only effective if attackers lack local system access. Neither workaround has meaningful side effects beyond the intended service reduction.
Same technique Information Disclosure
View allVendor StatusVendor
SUSE
Severity: Moderate| Product | Status |
|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | Fixed |
| 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 Performance Computing 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Legacy 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP applications 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Workstation Extension 15 SP7 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro 6.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP6-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server LTSS Extended Security 12 SP5 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server LTS 4.3 | Affected |
| SUSE CaaS Platform 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 12 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP5-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP6 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-ESPOS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP4-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP3-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 12 SP4 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud 9 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE OpenStack Cloud Crowbar 9 | Not-Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.3 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.4 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.5 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | Affected |
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-32799
GHSA-xg6x-xg63-gmxc