Remote denial of service via protocol-zero skb leak
Published Feb 4, 2026 · Updated Feb 4, 2026
Memory leak in the Linux kernel GUE receive path allows remote attackers to exhaust kernel memory with crafted protocol-0 packets. gue_udp_recv() returns zero for an inner protocol value of 0, so ip_protocol_deliver_rcu() treats success as no resubmit and leaves the packet buffer unreleased. The GUE receive path must accept repeated protocol-0 packets; each packet leaks an skb, allowing memory exhaustion and a system service interruption.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the Linux kernel GUE receive path allows remote attackers to exhaust kernel memory with crafted protocol-0 packets. gue_udp_recv() returns zero for an inner protocol value of 0, so ip_protocol_deliver_rcu() treats success as no resubmit and leaves the packet buffer unreleased. The GUE receive path must accept repeated protocol-0 packets; each packet leaks an skb, allowing memory exhaustion and a system service interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-23095
- Published
- Feb 4, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 4, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.001
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 4, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3.18
- Affected versionversion=37dd0247797b168ad1cc7f5dbec825a1ee66535b <5437a279804ced8088cabb945dba88a26d828f8c
- Affected versionversion=37dd0247797b168ad1cc7f5dbec825a1ee66535b <9a56796ad258786d3624eef5aefba394fc9bdded
- Affected versionversion=37dd0247797b168ad1cc7f5dbec825a1ee66535b <ce569b389a5c78d64788a5ea94560e17fa574b35
- Affected versionversion=37dd0247797b168ad1cc7f5dbec825a1ee66535b <f87b9b7a618c82e7465e872eb10e14c803871892
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo