Remote kernel crash via Geneve header misclassification
Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026
Reachable assertion in the Linux kernel allows remote attackers to crash vmxnet3 guests via crafted Geneve-encapsulated traffic. vmxnet3_get_hdr_len() treats completion flags derived from the inner packet as outer-header metadata without skipping the Geneve encapsulation, so outer UDP or differing IP versions fail BUG_ON checks. A remote host must deliver oversized Geneve TCP traffic to an affected VMware guest using vmxnet3; the reported consequence is a guest-kernel crash without data exposure or modification.
Summary
What happened
Reachable assertion in the Linux kernel allows remote attackers to crash vmxnet3 guests via crafted Geneve-encapsulated traffic. vmxnet3_get_hdr_len() treats completion flags derived from the inner packet as outer-header metadata without skipping the Geneve encapsulation, so outer UDP or differing IP versions fail BUG_ON checks. A remote host must deliver oversized Geneve TCP traffic to an affected VMware guest using vmxnet3; the reported consequence is a guest-kernel crash without data exposure or modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-68299
- Published
- Aug 10, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 10, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-617, T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 10, 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=4.2
- Affected versionversion=45dac1d6ea045ae56e4df8d9c70c92c7412bd4fc <28cb5d8d13b4c1faf3f688f62e5df82fe7b438d8
- Affected versionversion=45dac1d6ea045ae56e4df8d9c70c92c7412bd4fc <34a71f5361fc3adb5b7138da78750b0d535a8252
- Affected versionversion=45dac1d6ea045ae56e4df8d9c70c92c7412bd4fc <4fdb0f162ccdbe9626863b10003855703253fa29
- Affected versionversion=45dac1d6ea045ae56e4df8d9c70c92c7412bd4fc <667b6e52048eaf4dbcf1707ed87ffd44abb9cb38
- Affected versionversion=45dac1d6ea045ae56e4df8d9c70c92c7412bd4fc <b28596baf87e25a078789f1c05817c8a3bf71257
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.
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