# CVE-2026-23003: ip6_tunnel: use skb_vlan_inet_prepare() in __ip6_tnl_rcv() > An uninitialized value bug in the Linux kernel's IPv6 tunnel handling allows attackers to potentially read sensitive memory contents via crafted network packets. - **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`) - **Exploited in the wild:** Not known - **Login needed:** Not needed - **Attackable:** Over the internet - **Victim action needed:** Not needed - **Fix available:** Yes - **Published:** 25 Jan 2026 - **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026 - **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23003, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23003, GHSA-f9vv-4vcq-qjp3, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23003, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23003, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23003, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23003, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23003, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23003 ## What is CVE-2026-23003? CVE-2026-23003 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. ### Official description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ip6_tunnel: use skb_vlan_inet_prepare() in __ip6_tnl_rcv() Blamed commit did not take care of VLAN encapsulations as spotted by syzbot [1]. Use skb_vlan_inet_prepare() instead of pskb_inet_may_pull(). [1] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in __INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:253 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:275 [inline] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in IP6_ECN_decapsulate+0x7a8/0x1fa0 include/net/inet_ecn.h:321 __INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:253 [inline] INET_ECN_decapsulate include/net/inet_ecn.h:275 [inline] IP6_ECN_decapsulate+0x7a8/0x1fa0 include/net/inet_ecn.h:321 ip6ip6_dscp_ecn_decapsulate+0x16f/0x1b0 net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c:729 __ip6_tnl_rcv+0xed9/0x1b50 net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c:860 ip6_tnl_rcv+0xc3/0x100 net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c:903 gre_rcv+0x1529/0x1b90 net/ipv6/ip6_gre.c:-1 ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x1c89/0x2c60 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:438 ip6_input_finish+0x1f4/0x4a0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:489 NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:318 [inline] ip6_input+0x9c/0x330 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:500 ip6_mc_input+0x7ca/0xc10 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:590 dst_input include/net/dst.h:474 [inline] ip6_rcv_finish+0x958/0x990 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:79 NF_HOOK include/linux/netfilter.h:318 [inline] ipv6_rcv+0xf1/0x3c0 net/ipv6/ip6_input.c:311 __netif_receive_skb_one_core net/core/dev.c:6139 [inline] __netif_receive_skb+0x1df/0xac0 net/core/dev.c:6252 netif_receive_skb_internal net/core/dev.c:6338 [inline] netif_receive_skb+0x57/0x630 net/core/dev.c:6397 tun_rx_batched+0x1df/0x980 drivers/net/tun.c:1485 tun_get_user+0x5c0e/0x6c60 drivers/net/tun.c:1953 tun_chr_write_iter+0x3e9/0x5c0 drivers/net/tun.c:1999 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:593 [inline] vfs_write+0xbe2/0x15d0 fs/read_write.c:686 ksys_write fs/read_write.c:738 [inline] __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:749 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:746 [inline] __x64_sys_write+0x1fb/0x4d0 fs/read_write.c:746 x64_sys_call+0x30ab/0x3e70 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:2 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd3/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f Uninit was created at: slab_post_alloc_hook mm/slub.c:4960 [inline] slab_alloc_node mm/slub.c:5263 [inline] kmem_cache_alloc_node_noprof+0x9e7/0x17a0 mm/slub.c:5315 kmalloc_reserve+0x13c/0x4b0 net/core/skbuff.c:586 __alloc_skb+0x805/0x1040 net/core/skbuff.c:690 alloc_skb include/linux/skbuff.h:1383 [inline] alloc_skb_with_frags+0xc5/0xa60 net/core/skbuff.c:6712 sock_alloc_send_pskb+0xacc/0xc60 net/core/sock.c:2995 tun_alloc_skb drivers/net/tun.c:1461 [inline] tun_get_user+0x1142/0x6c60 drivers/net/tun.c:1794 tun_chr_write_iter+0x3e9/0x5c0 drivers/net/tun.c:1999 new_sync_write fs/read_write.c:593 [inline] vfs_write+0xbe2/0x15d0 fs/read_write.c:686 ksys_write fs/read_write.c:738 [inline] __do_sys_write fs/read_write.c:749 [inline] __se_sys_write fs/read_write.c:746 [inline] __x64_sys_write+0x1fb/0x4d0 fs/read_write.c:746 x64_sys_call+0x30ab/0x3e70 arch/x86/include/generated/asm/syscalls_64.h:2 do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:63 [inline] do_syscall_64+0xd3/0xf80 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:94 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 6465 Comm: syz.0.17 Not tainted syzkaller #0 PREEMPT(none) Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 10/25/2025 Weakness: CWE-908 (Use of Uninitialized Resource), CWE-457 (Use of Uninitialized Variable) ## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23003? It affects 1 product. Products: Linux kernel. ## How do I fix CVE-2026-23003? Apply the vendor's patch. ## Is CVE-2026-23003 being exploited? There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23003 in the wild and no public exploit code. Public exploit code: - https://github.com/George0Papasotiriou/CVE-2026-23003-Cross-Chain-Bridge-Message-Forging-via-Missing-Origin-Chain-ID (github_poc): https://github.com/George0Papasotiriou/CVE-2026-23003-Cross-Chain-Bridge-Message-Forging-via-Missing-Origin-Chain-ID ## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel - [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild) - [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild) ## Fix prompt for AI coding agents ```text Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23003 and fix it if it is affected. What it is: CVE-2026-23003 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim. Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23003 in the wild and no public exploit code. Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page. Task: 1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies. 2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it. 3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead. 4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why. 5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing. Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23003/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23003/index.md) ``` ## Sources - CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23003 - NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23003 - OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23003 --- From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23003/ Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.