CVE-2026-98568

Kernel memory corruption via neighbor-reply headroom race

Published Oct 18, 2026 · Updated Oct 18, 2026

A headroom race in Linux VXLAN allows attackers to corrupt kernel memory while neighbor replies overlap link reconfiguration. The vxlan_na_create() function reads LL_RESERVED_SPACE() separately for buffer allocation and headroom reservation; vxlan_changelink() can increase needed_headroom between those reads, causing an out-of-bounds Ethernet-header write. Triggering requires concurrent VXLAN neighbor-reply generation and link-headroom changes; the published evidence demonstrates memory corruption, not code execution or privilege escalation.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

A headroom race in Linux VXLAN allows attackers to corrupt kernel memory while neighbor replies overlap link reconfiguration. The vxlan_na_create() function reads LL_RESERVED_SPACE() separately for buffer allocation and headroom reservation; vxlan_changelink() can increase needed_headroom between those reads, causing an out-of-bounds Ethernet-header write. Triggering requires concurrent VXLAN neighbor-reply generation and link-headroom changes; the published evidence demonstrates memory corruption, not code execution or privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-98568
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

  1. Oct 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Oct 18, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.12.18 <3.13
  2. Affected versionversion=3.13.10 <3.14
  3. Affected versionversion=3.14
  4. Affected versionversion=3927dace523706cc00f808520eaf2125dd7c07b5
  5. Affected versionversion=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <315d42ca39f69846662961c25dcf2bb07c350d14
  6. Affected versionversion=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <45a67662bf8ce3aa5643accf98d328dfbb47eaf6
  7. Affected versionversion=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <481506a756dcd828ef42391cb08f38d8d96d38fc
  8. Affected versionversion=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <a3c5eb6e382dd426a5e7eb08608897ed57167ff7
  9. Affected versionversion=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <ff022fd9d0f0282c575e11778b96bd1b637503eb
  10. Affected versionversion=d8be18c52dbc94989f6d74637b731af39cd3d902

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.12.18 <3.13; version=3.13.10 <3.14; version=3.14; version=3927dace523706cc00f808520eaf2125dd7c07b5; version=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <315d42ca39f69846662961c25dcf2bb07c350d14; version=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <45a67662bf8ce3aa5643accf98d328dfbb47eaf6; version=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <481506a756dcd828ef42391cb08f38d8d96d38fc; version=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <a3c5eb6e382dd426a5e7eb08608897ed57167ff7; version=4b29dba9c085a4fb79058fb1c45a2f6257ca3dfa <ff022fd9d0f0282c575e11778b96bd1b637503eb; version=d8be18c52dbc94989f6d74637b731af39cd3d902

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

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

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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