CVE-2026-23378

Local privilege escalation via appended IFE metadata

Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026

An out-of-bounds write in the Linux Kernel IFE action code allows local users to corrupt kernel memory and escalate privileges. Replacing an IFE action appends rather than replaces its metalist, so repeated updates overflow the u16 metadata length and make ife_tlv_meta_encode write beyond its slab allocation. Low-privilege access is sufficient when user and network namespaces allow CAP_NET_ADMIN, and no race or user interaction is required.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

An out-of-bounds write in the Linux Kernel IFE action code allows local users to corrupt kernel memory and escalate privileges. Replacing an IFE action appends rather than replaces its metalist, so repeated updates overflow the u16 metadata length and make ife_tlv_meta_encode write beyond its slab allocation. Low-privilege access is sufficient when user and network namespaces allow CAP_NET_ADMIN, and no race or user interaction is required.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23378
Published
Mar 25, 2026
Updated
Mar 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-787, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=4.15
  2. Affected versionversion=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <56ade7ddea6ce605552341785d08e365c3f61861
  3. Affected versionversion=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <5b1449301ca070814d866990b46f48d3f39ea4ee
  4. Affected versionversion=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <691866c4cca54dc4df762276b49e89b36e046947
  5. Affected versionversion=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <91a89d3bdc2f63d983adc13d1771631663c5dc1b
  6. Affected versionversion=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <cd888c3966672239f2e0707b846a5a936ac9038a
  7. Affected versionversion=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <e2cedd400c3ec0302ffca2490e8751772906ac23

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=4.15; version=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <56ade7ddea6ce605552341785d08e365c3f61861; version=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <5b1449301ca070814d866990b46f48d3f39ea4ee; version=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <691866c4cca54dc4df762276b49e89b36e046947; version=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <91a89d3bdc2f63d983adc13d1771631663c5dc1b; version=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <cd888c3966672239f2e0707b846a5a936ac9038a; version=aa9fd9a325d51fa0b11153b03b8fefff569fa955 <e2cedd400c3ec0302ffca2490e8751772906ac23

Published CVSS scores

7.8kernel.orgCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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

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Your stack

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