CVE-2026-98541: fou: reject omitted FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO on FOU_ENCAP_DIRECT
Noroxi assessment
Priority: Monitor (action score 0/100)
- 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: 0.21% (FIRST EPSS).
- Fixed version: Linux Linux 3bcc1624cc1cdcc05b566475d6e848093ab2a8f6, 46b1ffb7e169c7e401dd890b29e55dbc261f8f01, 520cf06b8ea0ba5bcc1b8b982ef07f02b5e56221; azl3 kernel 6.6.157.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.159.1-1.
- Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).
Low priority for now. Upgrade to Linux Linux 3bcc1624cc1cdcc05b566475d6e848093ab2a8f6, 46b1ffb7e169c7e401dd890b29e55dbc261f8f01, 520cf06b8ea0ba5bcc1b8b982ef07f02b5e56221; azl3 kernel 6.6.157.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 6.6.159.1-1 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: fou: reject omitted FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO on FOU_ENCAP_DIRECT Commit 7a9bc9e3f423 ("fou: Don't allow 0 for FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO.") added NLA_POLICY_MIN(NLA_U8, 1) to fou_nl_policy[FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO], which rejects an explicitly supplied FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO == 0 attribute with -ERANGE. However, FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO is an optional netlink attribute. When a user sends FOU_CMD_ADD with FOU_ATTR_TYPE set to FOU_ENCAP_DIRECT and omits FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO entirely, nla_policy validation succeeds and parse_nl_config() leaves cfg->protocol as 0 (from memset(cfg, 0, sizeof(*cfg))). fou_create() then creates a FOU_ENCAP_DIRECT socket with fou->protocol == 0. In fou_udp_recv(), returning -fou->protocol to udp_queue_rcv_one_skb() triggers IP protocol resubmission when fou->protocol > 0, whereas returning 0 tells the UDP tunnel layer that the skb was consumed without freeing it. When fou->protocol == 0, every packet received on the socket returns 0 from fou_udp_recv() and leaks the sk_buff. Reject FOU_ENCAP_DIRECT when !cfg->protocol in fou_create() so that creating a direct encapsulation port without FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO fails with -EINVAL while leaving FOU_CMD_DEL and FOU_CMD_GET (which share parse_nl_config()) unaffected. Tested in QEMU against Linux 7.3.0-rc3 by sending a FOU_CMD_ADD Generic Netlink request with FOU_ATTR_PORT = 5555 and FOU_ATTR_TYPE = FOU_ENCAP_DIRECT while omitting FOU_ATTR_IPPROTO. On the unfixed kernel, FOU_CMD_ADD succeeds (err = 0), FOU_CMD_GET reports fou->type = 1 and fou->protocol = 0, and sending 4000 UDP packets to 127.0.0.1:5555 leaks all 4000 sk_buffs (SUnreclaim in /proc/meminfo grows from 41456 kB to 59008 kB, +17552 kB); with this patch applied, FOU_CMD_ADD is rejected with -EINVAL (-22).
- Published
- Oct 18, 2026
- Updated
- Oct 19, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.2% · 12th percentile
- CWE
- —
Report tools
Action score
0
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 0 / 40 · —
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.2%
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.
—
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
- 3.18affected
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before fd20220f86947d66d4dba2d76f13a28dbd86ef30affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before 46b1ffb7e169c7e401dd890b29e55dbc261f8f01affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before 7f4ba56f5d310dd018972916167985010a5d66a1affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before 3bcc1624cc1cdcc05b566475d6e848093ab2a8f6affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before 8b43f40798bb2758489fbbcae7e841ad4443c213affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before b1229b210ef5a39c58be665e6798203751411842affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before 520cf06b8ea0ba5bcc1b8b982ef07f02b5e56221affected · git
- 23461551c00628c3f3fe9cf837bf53cf8f212b63 and later · before d22609f3d13fc5baacd92c222731b03c593401dbaffected · git
- before 3.18not affected · semver
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian:12 | linux | before 6.1.190-1 | 6.1.190-1 |
| Debian:12 | linux-6.12 | before 6.12.113-1~deb12u1 | 6.12.113-1~deb12u1 |
| Debian:13 | linux | before 6.12.113-1 | 6.12.113-1 |
| Debian:14 | linux | before 7.2.9-1 | 7.2.9-1 |
Same product
linux: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2026-74705udp: fix potential use-after-free in tunnel segmentation40Plan
- CVE-2026-74612veth: fix skb length accounting after XDP frag adjustment40Plan
- CVE-2026-74475vxlan: use neigh_ha_snapshot() in route_shortcircuit()40Plan
Published before and after this one in the same product
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-98539Oct 18, 2026 · fs/ntfs3: use d_instantiate_new() in ntfs_create_inode() and murder syzbot's "WARNING in do_new_mount" saga0Monitor
- ← EarlierCVE-2026-98540Oct 18, 2026 · fprobe: Terminate the fgraph_data list when the reservation is not filled0Monitor
- Later →CVE-2026-98542Oct 18, 2026 · cgroup/cpuset: Return PERR_NOCPUS in remote_partition_enable() on subpartitions_cpus conflict0Monitor
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 | 3bcc1624cc1cdcc05b566475d6e848093ab2a8f6 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | 46b1ffb7e169c7e401dd890b29e55dbc261f8f01 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | 520cf06b8ea0ba5bcc1b8b982ef07f02b5e56221 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | 7f4ba56f5d310dd018972916167985010a5d66a1 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | 8b43f40798bb2758489fbbcae7e841ad4443c213 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | b1229b210ef5a39c58be665e6798203751411842 | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | d22609f3d13fc5baacd92c222731b03c593401db | Vendor (CNA) |
| Linux Linux | fd20220f86947d66d4dba2d76f13a28dbd86ef30 | Vendor (CNA) |
| azl3 kernel 6.6.157.1-1 on Azure Linux 3.0 | 6.6.159.1-1 · Release Notes | Microsoft (MSRC) |
| debian:linux | 6.1.190-1 · Debian:12 | Package registry (OSV) |
| debian:linux-6.12 | 6.12.113-1~deb12u1 · Debian:12 | 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.
- Published
- Fix recordedsame day
- TodayNov 1, 2026+14 d
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
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.
No nightly-computed relations.
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).
National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)
Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.
- TR-26-1351 · Oct 19, 2026(Linux Kernel Güvenlik Bildirimi)
Technical details
No CVSS vector for this record, so attack conditions can't be derived.
Weakness class (CWE)
—
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
MITRE has no CAPEC/ATT&CK mapping for this CWE.
Change log
- Exploit maturity— → none
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
Show all references (7 more)Show less
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/46b1ffb7e169c7e401dd890b29e55dbc261f8f01
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/520cf06b8ea0ba5bcc1b8b982ef07f02b5e56221
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f4ba56f5d310dd018972916167985010a5d66a1
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b43f40798bb2758489fbbcae7e841ad4443c213
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1229b210ef5a39c58be665e6798203751411842
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/d22609f3d13fc5baacd92c222731b03c593401db
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/fd20220f86947d66d4dba2d76f13a28dbd86ef30
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.