Kernel crash via unchecked VLAN header headroom
Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026
Insufficient headroom in Linux VLAN header construction allows attackers to crash the kernel via affected packet transmission. The vlan_dev_hard_header() function pushes a VLAN header without ensuring that the packet buffer has enough space, triggering skb_under_panic(). The affected path requires VLAN_FLAG_REORDER_HDR to be clear and insufficient reserved headroom, including after device changes; attacker privileges and external reachability are not established.
Summary
What happened
Insufficient headroom in Linux VLAN header construction allows attackers to crash the kernel via affected packet transmission. The vlan_dev_hard_header() function pushes a VLAN header without ensuring that the packet buffer has enough space, triggering skb_under_panic(). The affected path requires VLAN_FLAG_REORDER_HDR to be clear and insufficient reserved headroom, including after device changes; attacker privileges and external reachability are not established.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-98554
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 18, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Oct 18, 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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- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <4ba1f57313f36a3ce6f77d593548f0c511f34aa1
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <55e007fc3b4d76fa4d6b4660f6904fe6ab045a1b
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <5aca8e6a8ff6aeae358c1d9b65447aac416ace95
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <90d51095371d96747f45bbd8504edf6513e039ef
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c7ee4bea64f559ea8e03260014775b64c720cb5b
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ca797491f0ae4bfde9039f79f6f1ed7781c9110f
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cd5dd68267c4238795fadaf02b3575ca3f8a6500
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <cfba0f45553de2b803059e3d539a1e418df24da8
- Affected versionversion=2.6.12
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
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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