Evidence-led vulnerability intelligence · 2026-09-12 01:49 IST

CVE-2026-89563

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ip6_tunnel: use skb_cow_head() in ip6_tnl_xmit() ip6_tnl_xmit() may need to expand headroom before it can push the outer IPv6 and optional encap headers. It currently does that with skb_realloc_headroom(), copies skb->sk ownership, consumes the original skb, and then continues processing with the replacement skb kept only in its local variable. That is safe only if the helper cannot fail afterwards. But this helper still has post-reallocation error exits. collect_md tunnels reject non-NONE encap after the replacement, and ip6_tnl_encap() can also fail later. In those cases the helper returns an error to its callers while the caller still only has the original skb pointer. Both ip6_tnl_start_xmit() and the IPv6 GRE paths free the caller skb on error, so they can end up freeing an skb that ip6_tnl_xmit() already consumed. Use skb_cow_head() instead. It provides the required headroom and writability without privately replacing the caller-owned skb, so later error returns cannot leave callers with a stale pointer. The Ethernet users, ip6gretap and ip6erspan, clear IFF_TX_SKB_SHARING and already call skb_cow_head() before entering ip6_tnl_xmit(). They do not rely on the removed skb_shared() reallocation. This also makes the IPv6 tunnel path consistent with ip_tunnel_xmit().

HIGH · 7.8Linux

Executive briefing

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Assessment: Potential exposure only — validate product, version, configuration and vendor applicability.

Evidence confidence: Not assessed Evidence-derived, not an exploitability verdict

Severity & attack characteristics

7.8 / 10 · CVSS

CVSS vector:
Not supplied

No CVSS vector is currently available in the source record.

Technical explanation & impact

Technical root-cause details are not available in the current source record.

Assess the impact using the published CVSS metrics and the affected vendor component.

Affected products and versions

NVD has not supplied machine-readable vulnerable CPE product/version entries for this CVE. This is an information gap, not proof that no products are affected. Check the vendor advisory references below.

Remediation & validation

  1. Identify exposure by comparing the affected product and version ranges with your asset inventory, SBOM and externally exposed services.
  2. Review the linked vendor security advisory or patch notes. Upgrade to a vendor-confirmed fixed release; do not infer a fixed version from the CVE description.
  3. Until patched, consider restricting network access or disabling the affected feature where operationally safe. These are temporary controls, not a substitute for a vendor fix.
  4. Validate the remediation with a version check and vulnerability rescan, then retain change evidence.

No fixed version is displayed unless it is explicitly established by a vendor advisory. Follow the vendor's release notes for exact product and branch applicability.

Vendor advisories, patches & exploit references

No external references are currently supplied in the CVE record.

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