# CVE-2026-31415: ipv6: avoid overflows in ip6_datagram_send_ctl()

> A local attacker can trigger a kernel panic via integer overflow in IPv6 sendmsg handling, causing 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:** 13 Apr 2026
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-31415, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31415, GHSA-2rf4-5672-vqwm, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31415, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31415, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-31415, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-31415, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-31415, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-31415

## What is CVE-2026-31415?

CVE-2026-31415 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 13 Apr 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:

ipv6: avoid overflows in ip6_datagram_send_ctl()

Yiming Qian reported :
<quote>
 I believe I found a locally triggerable kernel bug in the IPv6 sendmsg
 ancillary-data path that can panic the kernel via `skb_under_panic()`
 (local DoS).

 The core issue is a mismatch between:

 - a 16-bit length accumulator (`struct ipv6_txoptions::opt_flen`, type
 `__u16`) and
 - a pointer to the *last* provided destination-options header (`opt->dst1opt`)

 when multiple `IPV6_DSTOPTS` control messages (cmsgs) are provided.

 - `include/net/ipv6.h`:
   - `struct ipv6_txoptions::opt_flen` is `__u16` (wrap possible).
 (lines 291-307, especially 298)
 - `net/ipv6/datagram.c:ip6_datagram_send_ctl()`:
   - Accepts repeated `IPV6_DSTOPTS` and accumulates into `opt_flen`
 without rejecting duplicates. (lines 909-933)
 - `net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:__ip6_append_data()`:
   - Uses `opt->opt_flen + opt->opt_nflen` to compute header
 sizes/headroom decisions. (lines 1448-1466, especially 1463-1465)
 - `net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:__ip6_make_skb()`:
   - Calls `ipv6_push_frag_opts()` if `opt->opt_flen` is non-zero.
 (lines 1930-1934)
 - `net/ipv6/exthdrs.c:ipv6_push_frag_opts()` / `ipv6_push_exthdr()`:
   - Push size comes from `ipv6_optlen(opt->dst1opt)` (based on the
 pointed-to header). (lines 1179-1185 and 1206-1211)

 1. `opt_flen` is a 16-bit accumulator:

 - `include/net/ipv6.h:298` defines `__u16 opt_flen; /* after fragment hdr */`.

 2. `ip6_datagram_send_ctl()` accepts *repeated* `IPV6_DSTOPTS` cmsgs
 and increments `opt_flen` each time:

 - In `net/ipv6/datagram.c:909-933`, for `IPV6_DSTOPTS`:
   - It computes `len = ((hdr->hdrlen + 1) << 3);`
   - It checks `CAP_NET_RAW` using `ns_capable(net->user_ns,
 CAP_NET_RAW)`. (line 922)
   - Then it does:
     - `opt->opt_flen += len;` (line 927)
     - `opt->dst1opt = hdr;` (line 928)

 There is no duplicate rejection here (unlike the legacy
 `IPV6_2292DSTOPTS` path which rejects duplicates at
 `net/ipv6/datagram.c:901-904`).

 If enough large `IPV6_DSTOPTS` cmsgs are provided, `opt_flen` wraps
 while `dst1opt` still points to a large (2048-byte)
 destination-options header.

 In the attached PoC (`poc.c`):

 - 32 cmsgs with `hdrlen=255` => `len = (255+1)*8 = 2048`
 - 1 cmsg with `hdrlen=0` => `len = 8`
 - Total increment: `32*2048 + 8 = 65544`, so `(__u16)opt_flen == 8`
 - The last cmsg is 2048 bytes, so `dst1opt` points to a 2048-byte header.

 3. The transmit path sizes headers using the wrapped `opt_flen`:

- In `net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1463-1465`:
  - `headersize = sizeof(struct ipv6hdr) + (opt ? opt->opt_flen +
 opt->opt_nflen : 0) + ...;`

 With wrapped `opt_flen`, `headersize`/headroom decisions underestimate
 what will be pushed later.

 4. When building the final skb, the actual push length comes from
 `dst1opt` and is not limited by wrapped `opt_flen`:

 - In `net/ipv6/ip6_output.c:1930-1934`:
   - `if (opt->opt_flen) proto = ipv6_push_frag_opts(skb, opt, proto);`
 - In `net/ipv6/exthdrs.c:1206-1211`, `ipv6_push_frag_opts()` pushes
 `dst1opt` via `ipv6_push_exthdr()`.
 - In `net/ipv6/exthdrs.c:1179-1184`, `ipv6_push_exthdr()` does:
   - `skb_push(skb, ipv6_optlen(opt));`
   - `memcpy(h, opt, ipv6_optlen(opt));`

 With insufficient headroom, `skb_push()` underflows and triggers
 `skb_under_panic()` -> `BUG()`:

 - `net/core/skbuff.c:2669-2675` (`skb_push()` calls `skb_under_panic()`)
 - `net/core/skbuff.c:207-214` (`skb_panic()` ends in `BUG()`)

 - The `IPV6_DSTOPTS` cmsg path requires `CAP_NET_RAW` in the target
 netns user namespace (`ns_capable(net->user_ns, CAP_NET_RAW)`).
 - Root (or any task with `CAP_NET_RAW`) can trigger this without user
 namespaces.
 - An unprivileged `uid=1000` user can trigger this if unprivileged
 user namespaces are enabled and it can create a userns+netns to obtain
 namespaced `CAP_NET_RAW` (the attached PoC does this).

 - Local denial of service: kernel BUG/panic (system crash).
 -
---truncated---

Weakness: CWE-617 (Reachable Assertion)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31415?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-31415?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-31415 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31415 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-2026-31415 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-31415 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 13 Apr 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-2026-31415 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-2026-31415/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31415/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-31415
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31415
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-31415

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-31415/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.