Kernel warning via unreachable ICMP reverse route
Published Oct 6, 2026 · Updated Oct 6, 2026
IPv4 ICMP route-handling error in Linux allows attackers to trigger a kernel warning when an incoming packet has an unreachable source route. In icmp_route_lookup, the reverse-path lookup accepts an RTN_UNREACHABLE input route and then uses its ip_rt_bug output handler to send ICMP. The forward output route must be unusable, such as when forwarding is disabled; the published reproduction demonstrates a warning, not a crash or service outage.
Summary
What happened
IPv4 ICMP route-handling error in Linux allows attackers to trigger a kernel warning when an incoming packet has an unreachable source route. In icmp_route_lookup, the reverse-path lookup accepts an RTN_UNREACHABLE input route and then uses its ip_rt_bug output handler to send ICMP. The forward output route must be unusable, such as when forwarding is disabled; the published reproduction demonstrates a warning, not a crash or service outage.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98303
- Published
- Oct 6, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
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
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.25
- Affected versionversion=8b7817f3a959ed99d7443afc12f78a7e1fcc2063 <06083cea4a3b95f5ebc85312f97d7086e6c9e782
- Affected versionversion=8b7817f3a959ed99d7443afc12f78a7e1fcc2063 <1af2d87964d87ba7626d96928d68c09158b5a223
- Affected versionversion=8b7817f3a959ed99d7443afc12f78a7e1fcc2063 <2998147b59c9df0a51477c7a6b3d1f0ba3127dd4
- Affected versionversion=8b7817f3a959ed99d7443afc12f78a7e1fcc2063 <83aa83f81a8fec30ff5372dee60b2f0561bcb2ca
- Affected versionversion=8b7817f3a959ed99d7443afc12f78a7e1fcc2063 <cac69c50716c712ef0114837c9427da66066124c
- Affected versionversion=8b7817f3a959ed99d7443afc12f78a7e1fcc2063 <fda3000147dc96c75ba162f680bec0a9fecf3037
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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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
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Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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