# CVE-2026-74287: sctp: validate embedded address parameter length

> A remote attacker can trigger out-of-bounds reads in the Linux kernel SCTP implementation by sending malformed ASCONF parameters, potentially causing crashes or leaking memory.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.1 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/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-2026-74287, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74287, GHSA-gffv-4hwx-62gg, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74287

## What is CVE-2026-74287?

CVE-2026-74287 is a critical memory corruption 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:

sctp: validate embedded address parameter length

sctp_verify_asconf() and sctp_verify_param() only validate ADD_IP, DEL_IP,
and SET_PRIMARY parameters against a fixed minimum size of sizeof(struct
sctp_addip_param) + sizeof(struct sctp_paramhdr). This ensures the outer
parameter is large enough to contain an embedded address parameter header,
but does not verify that the embedded address parameter's declared length
fits within the bounds of the outer parameter.

Later, sctp_process_param() and sctp_process_asconf_param() extract the
embedded address parameter and pass it to af->from_addr_param(), which uses
the address parameter length to parse the variable-length address payload.
A malformed peer can therefore advertise an embedded address parameter
length that exceeds the remaining bytes in the enclosing parameter.

Validate that addr_param->p.length does not exceed the space available
after the sctp_addip_param header before processing the embedded address
parameter. Reject malformed parameters when the embedded address length
extends beyond the enclosing parameter bounds.

This prevents out-of-bounds reads when parsing malformed parameters carried
in INIT or ASCONF processing paths.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74287?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74287?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74287 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74287 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74287 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74287 is a critical memory corruption 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-2026-74287 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-2026-74287/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74287/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74287
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74287
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74287

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74287/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.