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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-86676

| CVE-2026-98023 HIGH
2026-09-25 Linux GHSA-vcqm-xvp9-x4jq
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · Vendor: Linux
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Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Access
    Gain local CAP_NET_ADMIN access
  2. Delivery
    Create two VXLAN devices sharing one FDB nexthop
  3. Exploit
    Add dynamic FDB entries referencing the nexthop id
  4. Execution
    Aging softirq races concurrent add/delete
  5. Persist
    Shared list_del corruption
  6. Impact
    Use-after-free crashes kernel (DoS)

Vulnerability Assessment

Exploitation Conditions

Exploitation requires local access with CAP_NET_ADMIN to configure VXLAN networking, plus a specific non-default topology: at least two VXLAN devices whose FDB entries reference the SAME FDB nexthop id (an EVPN-style load-balancing setup with a user-space control plane and data-plane learning disabled). On vulnerable kernels the attacker must create 'dynamic' FDB entries pointing to that nexthop so they become eligible for aging. The bug then requires winning a race between the aging timer running in softirq context (without RTNL) on one device and a concurrent FDB add/delete on the other device sharing the list. Limiting factors: privileged local access only, an uncommon shared-nexthop configuration, and a timing-dependent race - so it is not reachable in default or single-device deployments and not remotely triggerable.

Impact

The NVD CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) overstates real-world risk for this bug. The vector correctly captures local access and low-privilege exploitation, but the description contradicts the C:H/I:H impact: this is a list-corruption / slab-use-after-free in vxlan_fdb_destroy that manifests as a KASAN-reported crash during FDB aging - a denial-of-service, with no evidence of information disclosure or integrity compromise. Two signals conflict here: the CVSS claims full CIA impact while the reproduction is a WARNING/BUG kernel oops (crash-dominant DoS). AC:L is also questionable - triggering requires a race between softirq-context aging on one VXLAN device and a concurrent add/delete on a second device sharing the same FDB nexthop, which is realistically AC:H. There is no EPSS score, no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code, so no active-exploitation pressure. My independent assessment is roughly 5.0 (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/C:N/I:L/A:H). Net: a legitimate kernel memory-safety fix worth patching in the maintenance window, but not an emergency, and not the network-facing high-confidentiality issue the raw score implies.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

A local user with CAP_NET_ADMIN configures two VXLAN devices whose FDB entries point to the same shared FDB nexthop and (before the fix) marks those entries 'dynamic', so they are subject to aging. As the aging timer fires in softirq context on one device without holding RTNL, it deletes an entry from the shared per-nexthop list while the second device concurrently adds or removes an entry, corrupting the list and triggering a use-after-free in vxlan_fdb_destroy that panics the kernel. No public proof-of-concept exists; the report includes only a KASAN/WARNING trace from the maintainers.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.1% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Sep 25, 2026

A race condition in the Linux kernel's VXLAN driver (vxlan_fdb_destroy / vxlan_cleanup path) lets a local attacker holding CAP_NET_ADMIN corrupt the shared per-nexthop FDB list and trigger a slab-use-after-free, producing kernel memory corruption that can crash the host and may be leveraged for privilege escalation. Kernels that support FDB nexthops in VXLAN (introduced around 5.8) are affected up to the released fixes, but the bug is only reachable in a non-default EVPN-style topology in which at least two VXLAN devices reference the same FDB nexthop id, data-plane learning is disabled, and 'dynamic' FDB entries are created so they become eligible for the aging timer. Practical risk is far lower than the NVD base score of 7.8 implies: exploitation demands privileged local access, an uncommon shared-nexthop configuration, and winning a timing-dependent race, and there is no public exploit identified at time of analysis and no CISA KEV listing; the vendor has released patches.

RemediationAI

Vendor-released patch: Linux 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7 and 7.3-rc3 (upstream commits 28f86eec851b7406a4bc6143f82aeba2882d9842, 53359916ceb649b7e6947c8c2f669368a41c1354, 3fa64d86fc64eda104e3e97721a12a42a2fd2073, 98fc57d167446b95b4e719815fe79edef93f8e7a at https://git.kernel.org/stable/); upgrade to the patched kernel for your stable branch or apply the corresponding downstream backport as soon as it is published. Where patching must be deferred, the fix's own logic points to a precise compensating control: do not create dynamic FDB entries that reference an FDB nexthop id. Concretely, in the user-space control plane (for example the EVPN/BGP agent programming the VXLAN FDB) remove the 'dynamic' flag from any fdb entry that points at a nexthop id, since such entries are never learned and never roam and static configuration is functionally equivalent; the trade-off is a change to provisioning templates and possible loss of aging-based cleanup, which must be handled by the control plane instead. A second compensating control is to avoid the shared-nexthop topology entirely: ensure no two VXLAN devices reference the same FDB nexthop id (give each device its own nexthop, or restrict each nexthop to a single VXLAN device), which removes the cross-device list sharing that the race requires but costs some load-balancing flexibility across VTEPs. Because the bug requires CAP_NET_ADMIN, restricting the capability and the ability to create VXLAN interfaces (network namespaces, container capability drops, no unprivileged user namespaces) reduces the local attack surface and delays post-exploitation escalation, though it does not fix the underlying race. Note that patching is the only measure that restores safe list handling, and that the assessment vector (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L, C:N/I:L/A:H) indicates availability impact is the primary realistic consequence, so operators should prioritize patching hosts where VXLAN EVPN load balancing is deployed.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux patch: 7.2.7
Linux patch: 6.18.53
Linux 1274e1cc42264d4e629841e4f182795cb0becfd2 <98fc57d167446b95b4e719815fe79edef93f8e7a
Linux 5.8
Linux patch: 0
Linux 1274e1cc42264d4e629841e4f182795cb0becfd2 <3fa64d86fc64eda104e3e97721a12a42a2fd2073
Linux 1274e1cc42264d4e629841e4f182795cb0becfd2 <53359916ceb649b7e6947c8c2f669368a41c1354
Linux 1274e1cc42264d4e629841e4f182795cb0becfd2 <28f86eec851b7406a4bc6143f82aeba2882d9842
Linux patch: 6.12.111
Linux patch: 7.3-rc3

Affected Packages

euvd linux no fix

Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)

Affects your stack

Affects 1 package in euvd

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

VXLAN forwarding database (FDB) entries map remote MAC addresses to VTEP destinations, and a later feature allowed an FDB entry to reference an 'FDB nexthop' id so overlay traffic can be load balanced across multiple VTEPs. Such entries can only be installed from user space, cannot be learned and cannot roam, and are meaningful only with a user-space control plane (for example E-VPN) where data-plane learning is disabled. The per-nexthop FDB list is protected solely by the per-device hash lock, which is inadequate when two VXLAN devices point at the same FDB nexthop and therefore share one list. The aging timer runs in softirq context without RTNL, so an entry deleted by one device can race with an add or delete from the other device sharing the list, producing classic list corruption and use-after-free symptoms (list_del corruption warnings in lib/list_debug.c, BUG: KASAN slab-use-after-free in vxlan_fdb_destroy, reached via vxlan_cleanup and the timer softirq path). The driver failed to reject 'dynamic' FDB entries that reference a nexthop id even though those entries are by design not learnable or roaming; the fix rejects that bogus configuration both at creation and on update, guaranteeing the per-nexthop FDB list is mutated only under RTNL. In weakness terms this is a concurrency/locking defect (unsynchronized shared-list access) that yields an out-of-bounds or use-after-free memory-safety impact, as evidenced by the CPE identifiers cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux tracking the upstream kernel artifacts rather than a separate vendor product.

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Severity by source

Vendor (Linux) PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
vuln.today AI 5.3 MEDIUM

Local CAP_NET_ADMIN config gives PR:L; a softirq-vs-config race across two shared-nexthop devices makes AC:H; crash-only impact is A:H with C:N and at most I:L from memory corruption.

3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
4.0 AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
SUSE 6.4 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Red Hat 7.0 MEDIUM

Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).

CVSS VectorVendor: Linux

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

Lifecycle Timeline

4
CVSS changed
Sep 25, 2026 - 15:22 NVD
7.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
Sep 25, 2026 - 11:02 EUVD
CVE Published
Sep 25, 2026 - 10:23 cve.org
HIGH 7.8
CVE Published
Sep 25, 2026 - 10:23 cve.org
UNKNOWN (no severity yet)

DescriptionCVE.org

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

vxlan: reject dynamic fdb entries that reference a nexthop id

The commit cited in the Fixes tag allowed VXLAN FDB entries to point to FDB nexthops so that overlay traffic could be load balanced across multiple VTEPs. Such entries can only be configured from user space, cannot be learned and cannot roam. They only make sense with a user space control plane such as E-VPN where data plane learning is disabled.

Despite that, the VXLAN driver does not currently prevent such entries from being configured with the "dynamic" flag. The per-nexthop FDB list is only protected by the per-device hash lock, which is not sufficient when two VXLAN devices point to the same FDB nexthop and therefore share the list. Aging runs in softirq context without RTNL, so an entry deleted by one device can race with an addition or deletion from the other, leading to list corruption:

list_del corruption. next->prev should be ffff8881069d9548, but was dead000000000122. (next=ffff8881069d9448) WARNING: CPU: 0 PID: 90 at lib/list_debug.c:65 __list_del_entry_valid_or_report+0x1aa/0x210 ... vxlan_fdb_destroy+0x5b8/0xad0 vxlan_cleanup+0x328/0x450 call_timer_fn+0x2a/0x1c0 run_timer_softirq+0x18c/0x210 BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in vxlan_fdb_destroy

Fix this by rejecting the bogus configuration of dynamic FDB entries that point to FDB nexthops, both when created and when an existing entry is updated. As such, the per-nexthop FDB list is only ever mutated under the RTNL lock. Add test cases to make sure that this does not regress in the future.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

A high-severity Linux kernel VXLAN race condition can cause host memory corruption and potential privilege escalation for local users with CAP_NET_ADMIN, but only in an uncommon EVPN configuration using shared FDB nexthop IDs, disabled learning, and dynamic FDB entries. The practical business exposure is limited to Linux fleets running that specific non-default topology; most other Linux environments face minimal risk because exploitation requires privileged local access, unusual settings, and a timing-dependent race. Vendor patches are available, and no public exploit has been identified at time of analysis.

Business Impact: Medium
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98% exploitable
Prevalence
Low
Linux kernel is ubiquitous but VXLAN EVPN FDB-nexthop load-balancing is a niche datacenter config
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.1%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Medium

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Moderate
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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