Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 SCTP sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init memory leak

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. This affects the function sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init of the component SCTP. The manipulation leads to memory leak. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-72413. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init of the component SCTP. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. Impacted is availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: fix err_chunk memory leaks in INIT handling When sctp_verify_init() encounters unrecognized parameters, it allocates an err_chunk to report them. However, this chunk is leaked in several code paths: 1. In sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init(), if security_sctp_assoc_request() fails after sctp_verify_init() has populated err_chunk, the function returns immediately without freeing it. 2. In sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(), the same leak occurs on the security_sctp_assoc_request() failure path. 3. In sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(), on the success path after copying unrecognized parameters to the INIT-ACK, the function returns without freeing err_chunk, unlike sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init() which properly frees it. Fix all three leaks by adding sctp_chunk_free(err_chunk) calls before returning in the error paths and on the success path in sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init().

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-72413 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

Upgrading to version 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 94f55994e19e8f0676990b9d5015b58ab6a97e00/9f58a0a4d6c2ed5d341bba64f058f15d1b0c36f2 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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