CVE-2026-97974Public exploitHinoki check available

Kernel crash via raced IPv6 route deletion

Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026

Race condition in Linux 6.16 allows local users to crash the kernel by racing IPv6 ECMP route replacement against route deletion. In __ip6_del_rt_siblings(), concurrent route replacement can clear rt->fib6_node after lookup, but the deletion path dereferences fn->leaf without first checking whether the node is null. Triggering the flaw requires local route-management access, and the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash rather than data access or code execution.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in Linux 6.16 allows local users to crash the kernel by racing IPv6 ECMP route replacement against route deletion. In __ip6_del_rt_siblings(), concurrent route replacement can clear rt->fib6_node after lookup, but the deletion path dereferences fn->leaf without first checking whether the node is null. Triggering the flaw requires local route-management access, and the demonstrated consequence is a kernel crash rather than data access or code execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-97974
Published
Sep 25, 2026
Updated
Sep 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 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?

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  1. Affected versionversion=6.16
  2. Affected versionversion=bd11ff421d36abdb585b9104fa70057bf01b3110 <1155234c2227cf36072a43e1e09119472ade7ca7
  3. Affected versionversion=bd11ff421d36abdb585b9104fa70057bf01b3110 <cdca92eddc025fdb90071be97738f7d55a65f8dd
  4. Affected versionversion=bd11ff421d36abdb585b9104fa70057bf01b3110 <e7ff91f19c1aae039a4257fa86fe849afe185291

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.16; version=bd11ff421d36abdb585b9104fa70057bf01b3110 <1155234c2227cf36072a43e1e09119472ade7ca7; version=bd11ff421d36abdb585b9104fa70057bf01b3110 <cdca92eddc025fdb90071be97738f7d55a65f8dd; version=bd11ff421d36abdb585b9104fa70057bf01b3110 <e7ff91f19c1aae039a4257fa86fe849afe185291

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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

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No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

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