# CVE-2026-23300: net: ipv6: fix panic when IPv4 route references loopback IPv6 nexthop

> A local attacker can cause a kernel panic by creating a specific IPv6 loopback nexthop referenced by an IPv4 route, leading to a denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Mar 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-80697, BELL-CVE-2026-23300, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23300, GHSA-77gg-4hmh-hwxc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23300, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23300, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-23300, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23300, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23300, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23300

## What is CVE-2026-23300?

CVE-2026-23300 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: ipv6: fix panic when IPv4 route references loopback IPv6 nexthop

When a standalone IPv6 nexthop object is created with a loopback device
(e.g., "ip -6 nexthop add id 100 dev lo"), fib6_nh_init() misclassifies
it as a reject route. This is because nexthop objects have no destination
prefix (fc_dst=::), causing fib6_is_reject() to match any loopback
nexthop. The reject path skips fib_nh_common_init(), leaving
nhc_pcpu_rth_output unallocated. If an IPv4 route later references this
nexthop, __mkroute_output() dereferences NULL nhc_pcpu_rth_output and
panics.

Simplify the check in fib6_nh_init() to only match explicit reject
routes (RTF_REJECT) instead of using fib6_is_reject(). The loopback
promotion heuristic in fib6_is_reject() is handled separately by
ip6_route_info_create_nh(). After this change, the three cases behave
as follows:

1. Explicit reject route ("ip -6 route add unreachable 2001:db8::/64"):
   RTF_REJECT is set, enters reject path, skips fib_nh_common_init().
   No behavior change.

2. Implicit loopback reject route ("ip -6 route add 2001:db8::/32 dev lo"):
   RTF_REJECT is not set, takes normal path, fib_nh_common_init() is
   called. ip6_route_info_create_nh() still promotes it to reject
   afterward. nhc_pcpu_rth_output is allocated but unused, which is
   harmless.

3. Standalone nexthop object ("ip -6 nexthop add id 100 dev lo"):
   RTF_REJECT is not set, takes normal path, fib_nh_common_init() is
   called. nhc_pcpu_rth_output is properly allocated, fixing the crash
   when IPv4 routes reference this nexthop.

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23300?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23300?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23300 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23300 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## 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-2026-23300 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23300 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23300 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-2026-23300/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23300/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23300
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23300
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23300

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23300/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.