CVE-2026-80520Network attack vector

Host crash via unchecked empty crypto slot

Published Aug 26, 2026 · Updated Aug 26, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel ovpn allows remote authenticated users to crash the host through sustained VPN traffic. While holding the crypto-state lock, ovpn_crypto_kill_key reads key_id from each crypto slot before checking whether the slot is NULL. An established OpenVPN data-channel session to an ovpn-offloaded interface is required; packet-ID exhaustion after rekey can cause a kernel oops or panic.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability0.43%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel ovpn allows remote authenticated users to crash the host through sustained VPN traffic. While holding the crypto-state lock, ovpn_crypto_kill_key reads key_id from each crypto slot before checking whether the slot is NULL. An established OpenVPN data-channel session to an ovpn-offloaded interface is required; packet-ID exhaustion after rekey can cause a kernel oops or panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-80520
Published
Aug 26, 2026
Updated
Aug 26, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 26, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 26, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.16
  2. Affected versionversion=89d3c0e4612afa1c6429ed68d298e35592fbe208 <41d44ac7a61e2f74453af40d4fe1b82af9ea0ada
  3. Affected versionversion=89d3c0e4612afa1c6429ed68d298e35592fbe208 <a47a080d06ee9d94dc6a2da0fc2b9beeeedb92b3
  4. Affected versionversion=89d3c0e4612afa1c6429ed68d298e35592fbe208 <acf32a5dff082044cf0fd9492f3c10b7357c15ee

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.16; version=89d3c0e4612afa1c6429ed68d298e35592fbe208 <41d44ac7a61e2f74453af40d4fe1b82af9ea0ada; version=89d3c0e4612afa1c6429ed68d298e35592fbe208 <a47a080d06ee9d94dc6a2da0fc2b9beeeedb92b3; version=89d3c0e4612afa1c6429ed68d298e35592fbe208 <acf32a5dff082044cf0fd9492f3c10b7357c15ee

Published CVSS scores

7.5Linux Kernel CVE TeamCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint 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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