Linux Kernel up to 7.1.7 VXLAN vxlan_xmit use after free

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$5k-$25k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.7. This vulnerability affects the function vxlan_xmit of the component VXLAN. This manipulation causes use after free. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-80681. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.7. It has been declared as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function vxlan_xmit of the component VXLAN. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vxlan: re-fetch eth header after route_shortcircuit() Before route_shortcircuit(), the eth header pointer is cached from eth_hdr(skb). Inside route_shortcircuit(), pskb_may_pull() can be called, which may reallocate skb->head. In this case, returning to vxlan_xmit() leaves the cached eth pointer pointing to freed memory, leading to a use-after-free when dereferencing eth->h_dest. Fix this by updating eth = eth_hdr(skb) after calling route_shortcircuit().

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-80681 since 08/26/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/31/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 341325 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-80681), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.265, 5.15.216, 6.1.183, 6.6.151, 6.12.103, 6.18.44 or 7.1.8 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 6375093eb45cd7d89f1945f939eeae3b29d79f56/1b7f7b653e3557690047c62f03b80a24ea5a58a5/bf045341dfb3e767f0ff94cf240ce3c371973bd4/2355c8c26d2aa1b4385b369e67202e47d460d555/1511631b7cfc4152b10a0a9d04c7a0bf2ddf4585/1235e017aa11cf01e91b613c4c5ed6aa28934fff/c9dceac9e1c7c772c43c732fc0d325e72835801a/1395a676ec15a0a02a2a6d86602324f2d5fd41d5 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (341325) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-3075). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.264
• 5.15.215
• 6.1.182
• 6.6.150
• 6.12.102
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4
• 7.1.5
• 7.1.6
• 7.1.7

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 341325
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-80681

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.265/5.15.216/6.1.183/6.6.151/6.12.103/6.18.44/7.1.8
Patch: 6375093eb45cd7d89f1945f939eeae3b29d79f56/1b7f7b653e3557690047c62f03b80a24ea5a58a5/bf045341dfb3e767f0ff94cf240ce3c371973bd4/2355c8c26d2aa1b4385b369e67202e47d460d555/1511631b7cfc4152b10a0a9d04c7a0bf2ddf4585/1235e017aa11cf01e91b613c4c5ed6aa28934fff/c9dceac9e1c7c772c43c732fc0d325e72835801a/1395a676ec15a0a02a2a6d86602324f2d5fd41d5

Timelineinfo

08/26/2026 CVE reserved
08/28/2026 +2 days Advisory disclosed
08/28/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/31/2026 +3 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-80681 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-80681
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-396619
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2026-3075 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 08/28/2026 10:52
Updated: 08/31/2026 18:13
Changes: 08/28/2026 10:52 (59), 08/29/2026 18:31 (7), 08/31/2026 18:13 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Discussion

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