CVE-2025-71128: erspan: Initialize options_len before referencing options.
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 22/100)
- The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
- Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.30% (FIRST EPSS).
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. A low-privileged account is enough. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
- According to CISA the attack is automatable: targets can be found by mass scanning.
- Fixed version: Linux Linux 35ddf66c65eff93fff91406756ba273600bf61a3, b282b2a9eed848587c1348abdd5d83fa346a2743.
- Severity is disputed: the assigning authority (CNA) scores it 7.5, NVD 5.5.
Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 35ddf66c65eff93fff91406756ba273600bf61a3, b282b2a9eed848587c1348abdd5d83fa346a2743 or later.
Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it
Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: erspan: Initialize options_len before referencing options. The struct ip_tunnel_info has a flexible array member named options that is protected by a counted_by(options_len) attribute. The compiler will use this information to enforce runtime bounds checking deployed by FORTIFY_SOURCE string helpers. As laid out in the GCC documentation, the counter must be initialized before the first reference to the flexible array member. After scanning through the files that use struct ip_tunnel_info and also refer to options or options_len, it appears the normal case is to use the ip_tunnel_info_opts_set() helper. Said helper would initialize options_len properly before copying data into options, however in the GRE ERSPAN code a partial update is done, preventing the use of the helper function. Before this change the handling of ERSPAN traffic in GRE tunnels would cause a kernel panic when the kernel is compiled with GCC 15+ and having FORTIFY_SOURCE configured: memcpy: detected buffer overflow: 4 byte write of buffer size 0 Call Trace: <IRQ> __fortify_panic+0xd/0xf erspan_rcv.cold+0x68/0x83 ? ip_route_input_slow+0x816/0x9d0 gre_rcv+0x1b2/0x1c0 gre_rcv+0x8e/0x100 ? raw_v4_input+0x2a0/0x2b0 ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x1ea/0x210 ip_local_deliver_finish+0x86/0x110 ip_local_deliver+0x65/0x110 ? ip_rcv_finish_core+0xd6/0x360 ip_rcv+0x186/0x1a0 Reported-at: https://launchpad.net/bugs/2129580
- Published
- Jan 14, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 19, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.3% · 23th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-665
Report tools
Action score
22
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 22 / 40 · 5.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.3%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- yes
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- 5.5
- CNA · Linux
- 7.5
- 2.0 point gap
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Get told when this record changes
- Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
- No public exploit code on record
- A fix has been released
If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.
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Noroxi analysis
What does it mean in your environment?
The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.
We use this product, ask for helpAffected systems
Is your version affected?
Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux kernel | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- linux linux kernel6.15.1 and later · before 6.18.4
- linux linux kernel6.15
- linux linux kernel6.19
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (Linux). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
Linux Linux
- 6.15affected
- bb5e62f2d547c4de6d1b144cbce2373a76c33f18 and later · before b282b2a9eed848587c1348abdd5d83fa346a2743affected · git
- bb5e62f2d547c4de6d1b144cbce2373a76c33f18 and later · before 35ddf66c65eff93fff91406756ba273600bf61a3affected · git
- before 6.15not affected · semver
- 6.18.4 and later · up to and including 6.18.*not affected · semver
- 6.19 and laternot affected · original_commit_for_fix
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:14 | linux | before 6.18.5-1 | 6.18.5-1 |
Same product
linux: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-31431crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-placeKEV90Now
- CVE-2022-0847A flaw was found in the way the "flags" member of the new pipe buffer structure was lacking proper initialization in copy_page_to_iter_pipe KEV89Now
- CVE-2021-22555Heap Out-Of-Bounds Write in Netfilter IP6T_SO_SET_REPLACEKEV85Now
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2025-71126Jan 14, 2026 · mptcp: avoid deadlock on fallback while reinjecting22Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2025-71127Jan 14, 2026 · wifi: mac80211: Discard Beacon frames to non-broadcast address22Monitor
- Later →CVE-2025-71130Jan 14, 2026 · drm/i915/gem: Zero-initialize the eb.vma array in i915_gem_do_execbuffer22Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Linux Linux | 35ddf66c65eff93fff91406756ba273600bf61a3 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | b282b2a9eed848587c1348abdd5d83fa346a2743 | Vendor (CNA) |
| debian:linux | 6.18.5-1 · Debian:14 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
No history yet (it accumulates with the daily EPSS job).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
No commit or PR link among the references.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2026-53398186 days apartNFSD: Fix SECINFO_NO_NAME decode error cleanup39Monitor
- CVE-2026-64368192 days apartmm/slab: do not limit zeroing to orig_size when only red zoning is enabled32Monitor
- CVE-2026-2325363 days apartmedia: dvb-core: fix wrong reinitialization of ringbuffer on reopen31Monitor
- CVE-2025-21906288 days apartwifi: iwlwifi: mvm: clean up ROC on failure22Monitor
- CVE-2024-46697488 days apartnfsd: ensure that nfsd4_fattr_args.context is zeroed out22Monitor
- CVE-2024-45018490 days apartnetfilter: flowtable: initialise extack before use22Monitor
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
- A low-privileged account is enough.
- No user action is required.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Local
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-665 · Improper InitializationCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-primary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
ATT&CK techniques
—
Change log
- SSVC exploitation— → none
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (1 more)Show less
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.