CVE-2026-72398Network attack vector

Remote denial of service via unverified INIT

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Improper INIT validation in the Linux kernel SCTP implementation allows remote attackers to cause denial of service via COOKIE-ECHO packets. COOKIE-ECHO processing reconstructs an embedded INIT chunk and, with cookie authentication disabled, trusts its type, length, and parameters without revalidation. A crafted handshake can therefore make the kernel process tampered INIT data and interrupt SCTP service without authentication.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability0.70%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper INIT validation in the Linux kernel SCTP implementation allows remote attackers to cause denial of service via COOKIE-ECHO packets. COOKIE-ECHO processing reconstructs an embedded INIT chunk and, with cookie authentication disabled, trusts its type, length, and parameters without revalidation. A crafted handshake can therefore make the kernel process tampered INIT data and interrupt SCTP service without authentication.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72398
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-354, T1498
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <062bcbf8d1f1051fdeb20b94920031b0e2cb95a2
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <414c5447fe6a200613dd46d7fdc8454622076cb1
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <bca3100f550281c2f2418652338bced3b35af0e6
  4. Affected versionversion=2.6.12

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <062bcbf8d1f1051fdeb20b94920031b0e2cb95a2; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <414c5447fe6a200613dd46d7fdc8454622076cb1; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <bca3100f550281c2f2418652338bced3b35af0e6; version=2.6.12

Published CVSS scores

8.5SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
9.8CanonicalCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8SUSECVSS: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.

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No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-354Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value
T1498Network Denial of Service

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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