Severity by source
Sources disagree (Medium–Critical)AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
Unauthenticated peer/local raw-socket reach gives AV:N/AC:L/PR:N, but the leak is a small uninitialized value (C:L) with only a possible OOB-read crash (A:L), not full compromise.
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
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionCVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sctp: validate STALE_COOKIE cause length before reading staleness
When an ERROR chunk with a STALE_COOKIE cause is received in the COOKIE_ECHOED state, sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale() reads the 4-byte Measure of Staleness that follows the cause header:
err = (struct sctp_errhdr *)(chunk->skb->data); stale = ntohl(*(__be32 *)((u8 *)err + sizeof(*err)));
err is the first cause in the chunk, not the STALE_COOKIE cause that caused the dispatch, and nothing guarantees the staleness field is present. sctp_walk_errors() only requires a cause to be as long as the 4-byte header, so for a STALE_COOKIE cause of length 4 the read runs past the cause, and for a minimal ERROR chunk past skb->tail. The value is echoed to the peer in the Cookie Preservative of the reply INIT, leaking uninitialized memory.
sctp_sf_cookie_echoed_err() already walks to the STALE_COOKIE cause, so check its length there and pass it to sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(), which reads that cause instead of the first one. A STALE_COOKIE cause too short to hold the staleness field is discarded.
The read is reachable by any peer that can drive an association into COOKIE_ECHOED, including an unprivileged process using a raw SCTP socket in a user and network namespace.
AnalysisAI
Uninitialized kernel memory disclosure in the Linux kernel SCTP stack allows a remote peer to leak stale kernel heap/stack bytes by sending a malformed ERROR chunk carrying a STALE_COOKIE cause. When an association is in the COOKIE_ECHOED state, sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale() reads a 4-byte 'Measure of Staleness' from the first cause in the chunk without verifying that the field is actually present, and echoes that value back to the peer in the Cookie Preservative of the reply INIT. It is reachable by any peer - including an unprivileged local process using a raw SCTP socket inside a user+network namespace - and there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis (EPSS 0.18%, not in CISA KEV).
Technical ContextAI
The flaw lives in the kernel's SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol, RFC 4960) state machine. During the four-way SCTP handshake, a server may reply to a COOKIE_ECHO with an ERROR chunk containing a STALE_COOKIE cause (type 3) whose body holds a 4-byte staleness value used by the peer to build the Cookie Preservative parameter of a retried INIT. The bug is a length-validation gap: sctp_walk_errors() only guarantees a cause is at least as long as its 4-byte header, but sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale() casts past that header (stale = ntohl(*(__be32 *)((u8 *)err + sizeof(*err)))) against the FIRST cause in the chunk rather than the STALE_COOKIE cause that triggered the dispatch. For a STALE_COOKIE cause of length 4, or a minimal ERROR chunk, the read runs past the cause and even past skb->tail. CWE is listed as N/A by NVD, but the root cause maps to CWE-125 (Out-of-Bounds Read) combined with CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource), since the leaked bytes are then transmitted to the peer. The fix makes sctp_sf_cookie_echoed_err() validate the STALE_COOKIE cause length and pass that specific cause to sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(), discarding any STALE_COOKIE cause too short to hold the staleness field. Affected code is CONFIG_IP_SCTP; systems without the SCTP module loaded are not exposed. CPE data only generically identifies 'linux:linux' (the kernel).
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: upgrade to a fixed stable kernel - 6.18.40, 6.12.97, 6.6.145, 6.1.178, 5.15.212, or 5.10.261 (or 7.1.5 / 7.2-rc4 on newer trees) - or apply your distribution's backported update referencing CVE-2026-64551; the upstream fixes are the kernel.org stable commits (e.g., https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/588706ebaf8cdb4a4161602949eba365514b1db1). Where immediate patching is not possible, the most effective compensating control is to remove the attack surface: blacklist/unload the SCTP module (e.g., 'install sctp /bin/true' in modprobe.d) on hosts that do not require SCTP - side effect: breaks any legitimate SCTP applications such as certain telecom/Diameter/SS7-over-IP or clustering stacks. Additionally, restrict unprivileged user-namespace creation (sysctl kernel.unprivileged_userns_clone=0 or user.max_user_namespaces=0) to close the local raw-SCTP-socket path - trade-off: may break container runtimes and sandboxes that rely on unprivileged user namespaces. Where SCTP is needed, filter/deny untrusted SCTP (IP protocol 132) at the network boundary to limit which peers can drive associations into COOKIE_ECHOED.
Same technique Information Disclosure
View allVendor 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 |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 16.1 | 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 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 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 Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Micro Extras 6.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | Affected |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 12 SP5 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4 LTSS EXTREME CORE | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 12 SP5-LTSS Extended Security | 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 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 6 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7 | Affected |
| SUSE Enterprise Storage 7.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 SP4 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP2 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-ESPOS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP2-LTSS | 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 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Module for Development Tools 15 SP3 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Real Time 15 SP2 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP4-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP1-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-BCL | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 15 SP2-LTSS | 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 15 SP1 | Affected |
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for SAP Applications 15 SP2 | 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 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Proxy 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Retail Branch Server 4.2 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.0 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.1 | Affected |
| SUSE Manager Server 4.2 | 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-2026-49602
GHSA-m58p-8fjh-3whj