Kernel crash via premature Geneve option copy
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
Denial of service in Linux 6.15 allows local users with route-configuration privileges to crash the kernel via a Geneve-encapsulated route. The ip_tun_parse_opts_geneve function copies option data into a flexible array before ip_tun_set_opts initializes its options_len count, so fortified memcpy rejects a nonzero write into a zero-sized destination. The demonstrated panic requires permission to add the crafted route and a kernel built with GCC 15 or later and CONFIG_FORTIFY_SOURCE.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Linux 6.15 allows local users with route-configuration privileges to crash the kernel via a Geneve-encapsulated route. The ip_tun_parse_opts_geneve function copies option data into a flexible array before ip_tun_set_opts initializes its options_len count, so fortified memcpy rejects a nonzero write into a zero-sized destination. The demonstrated panic requires permission to add the crafted route and a kernel built with GCC 15 or later and CONFIG_FORTIFY_SOURCE.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98240
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- admin
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 6, 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=6.15
- Affected versionversion=bb5e62f2d547c4de6d1b144cbce2373a76c33f18 <0f6a6beb01c068fcd5274eabf22c260039749fea
- Affected versionversion=bb5e62f2d547c4de6d1b144cbce2373a76c33f18 <455ebeadf714f51e1dbbd6a022c74c9215b1cd76
- Affected versionversion=bb5e62f2d547c4de6d1b144cbce2373a76c33f18 <9907325257b4b382f26aafd5d9a8d47915907dd5
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Geneve-encapsulated route panic reproducerproof of concept · demonstrated
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
Get started to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Get started