# CVE-2026-74281: tipc: reject inverted service ranges from peer bindings

> A remote attacker can cause memory exhaustion and denial of service in the Linux kernel by sending TIPC publications with inverted service ranges.

- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74281, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74281, GHSA-x4hp-m4vp-wc59, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74281

## What is CVE-2026-74281?

CVE-2026-74281 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

tipc: reject inverted service ranges from peer bindings

tipc_update_nametbl() inserts a binding advertised by a peer node using
the lower and upper service-range bounds taken directly from the wire,
without checking that lower <= upper. The local bind path validates the
ordering (tipc_uaddr_valid()), but the name-distribution path does not.

A binding with lower > upper is inserted at the far end of the
service-range rbtree (keyed on lower) where no lookup or withdrawal can
ever match it (service_range_foreach_match() requires sr->lower <= end).
The publication, its service_range node and the augmented rbtree entry
are then leaked for the lifetime of the namespace, and there is no
per-peer cap equivalent to TIPC_MAX_PUBL on locally created bindings.

Reject inverted ranges in the network path as well. A peer node can
otherwise leak unbounded binding-table memory by sending PUBLICATION
items with lower > upper.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74281?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74281?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74281 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74281 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74281 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-74281 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-74281/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74281/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74281
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74281
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74281

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74281/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.