# CVE-2026-63971: sctp: fix race between sctp_wait_for_connect and peeloff

> A race condition in the Linux kernel SCTP implementation allows attackers to access memory under the wrong lock, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 19 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-63971, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-63971, GHSA-p8fw-9cj8-hc3p, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-63971, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-63971

## What is CVE-2026-63971?

CVE-2026-63971 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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:

sctp: fix race between sctp_wait_for_connect and peeloff

sctp_wait_for_connect() drops and re-acquires the socket lock while
waiting for the association to reach ESTABLISHED state. During this
window, another thread can peeloff the association to a new socket via
getsockopt(SCTP_SOCKOPT_PEELOFF), changing asoc->base.sk. After
re-acquiring the old socket lock, sctp_wait_for_connect() returns
success without noticing the migration — the caller then accesses
the association under the wrong lock in sctp_datamsg_from_user().

Add the same sk != asoc->base.sk check that sctp_wait_for_sndbuf()
already has, returning an error if the association was migrated while
we slept.

Weakness: CWE-362 (Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-63971?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-63971?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-63971 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-63971 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-2026-63971 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-63971 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 19 Jul 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-2026-63971 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-2026-63971/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63971/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-63971
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-63971
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-63971

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-63971/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.