Linux Kernel up to 6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3 xfrm/iptfs __iptfs_iphlen buffer overflow

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.
7.2	$5k-$25k	2.81-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3. This affects the function __iptfs_iphlen of the component xfrm/iptfs. Executing a manipulation can lead to buffer overflow. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-98371. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3. This vulnerability affects the function __iptfs_iphlen of the component xfrm/iptfs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. As an impact it is known to affect availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: iptfs: fix runt reassembly panic from short inner tot_len When the start of an inner packet is split across two outer packets such that fewer than 4 bytes land at the end of the first one, __input_process_payload() saves those bytes as a runt and skips the iplen/iphlen validation performed for in-place packets. When the continuation packet arrives, iptfs_reassem_cont() only requires the declared inner length to be >= sizeof(ra_runt) (6) before allocating the reassembly skb with that attacker-controlled length. However, __iptfs_iphlen() always returns the fixed minimum IP header size (20 for IPv4, 40 for IPv6), so for an inner IPv4 tot_len in [6, 19] the header-completion copy writes past the declared packet length, and the subsequent "ipremain -= copylen" underflows to ~4GB, leaving the payload copy length bounded only by blkoff (up to 64KB). At runtime the skb_put() tailroom check turns this into skb_over_panic(), i.e. an unprivileged kernel panic (DoS), reachable locally via userns+netns IPTFS SAs and remotely against IPTFS VPN gateways when the decrypted outer skb is linear (e.g. AF_PACKET taps, tun/tap delivery). Align the runt path with the normal path by requiring the declared inner length to cover at least the IP header size. This also subsumes the previous >= sizeof(ra_runt) check, since the minimum IP header is always larger than the runt buffer. This issue was found by the autokbug dynamic kernel fuzzer at Tencent Yunding Lab.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-98371 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is required for a successful exploitation. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 10/06/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.54, 7.2.8 or 7.3-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch a7018ee0ea8622ed59edc064be4e0f2c26464f53/5b8afb56ccb7c014b0f1ac40341708b200443c2d/dc33262be1fe43d0eb0b84fb58c6ed42e2f64a8c is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 6.18.53
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.2.7
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2
• 7.3-rc3

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: 7.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.2

VulDB Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Temp Score: 7.2
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Buffer overflow
CWE: CWE-120 / 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

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.18.54/7.2.8/7.3-rc4
Patch: a7018ee0ea8622ed59edc064be4e0f2c26464f53/5b8afb56ccb7c014b0f1ac40341708b200443c2d/dc33262be1fe43d0eb0b84fb58c6ed42e2f64a8c

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/06/2026 +11 days Advisory disclosed
10/06/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/06/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98371 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98371
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-414262

Entryinfo

Created: 10/06/2026 14:08
Changes: 10/06/2026 14:08 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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