CVE-2026-80978Public exploit

Kernel panic via wrapped tunnel header offsets

Published Sep 11, 2026 · Updated Sep 11, 2026

Denial of service in Linux kernel IP tunnel handling allows local users to trigger a kernel panic through deeply stacked tunnel devices. Tunnel configuration propagates unbounded needed_headroom from lower devices, causing 16-bit skb header offsets to wrap during later head expansion. Exploitation requires local user and network namespaces, creation of more than 1,600 nested tunnels, and transmission through the resulting stack.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
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

Denial of service in Linux kernel IP tunnel handling allows local users to trigger a kernel panic through deeply stacked tunnel devices. Tunnel configuration propagates unbounded needed_headroom from lower devices, causing 16-bit skb header offsets to wrap during later head expansion. Exploitation requires local user and network namespaces, creation of more than 1,600 nested tunnels, and transmission through the resulting stack.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-80978
Published
Sep 11, 2026
Updated
Sep 11, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 11, 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=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <6b222adeb9340306e2ff97127c76117abb9b3df8
  2. Affected versionversion=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <9144f2c53a04465a6878172b523f640313c5559e
  3. Affected versionversion=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <af0ee8f04bea22cdb331fa3509e17f81b48938ad
  4. Affected versionversion=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <bc4e05ae66c9797a0972ac44326e69c5305e0020
  5. Affected versionversion=3.11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <6b222adeb9340306e2ff97127c76117abb9b3df8; version=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <9144f2c53a04465a6878172b523f640313c5559e; version=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <af0ee8f04bea22cdb331fa3509e17f81b48938ad; version=1a37e412a0225fcba5587f24c0dfc7636efc8b69 <bc4e05ae66c9797a0972ac44326e69c5305e0020; version=3.11

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

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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