# CVE-2026-74430: rxrpc: Fix ACKALL packet handling

> A remote attacker can cause a kernel crash by sending a forged ACKALL packet to a new service call, leading to a null-pointer dereference.

- **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:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-74430, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74430, GHSA-px3f-ghhp-7f3w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74430

## What is CVE-2026-74430?

CVE-2026-74430 is a high-severity 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:

rxrpc: Fix ACKALL packet handling

rxrpc_input_ackall() accepts ACKALL packets without checking whether the
call is in a state that can legitimately have outstanding transmit buffers.
A forged ACKALL can therefore reach a new service call in
RXRPC_CALL_SERVER_RECV_REQUEST before any reply packets have been queued.

In that state call->tx_top is zero and call->tx_queue is NULL, so
rxrpc_rotate_tx_window() dereferences a NULL txqueue and triggers a
null-pointer dereference.

Fix the handling of ACKALL packets by the following means:

 (1) Add two new call states: RXRPC_CALL_CLIENT_PRE_SEND which indicates
     that the client call is connected, but nothing has been transmitted as
     yet; and RXRPC_CALL_CLIENT_AWAIT_ACK, which indicates that everything
     has been transmitted at least once, but we're now waiting for the
     stuff remaining in the Tx buffer to be ACK'd (retransmissions may
     still happen).

     The RXRPC_CALL_CLIENT_PRE_SEND state is set when the call is assigned
     a channel and transitions to RXRPC_CALL_CLIENT_SEND_REQUEST when the
     first packet is transmitted.

     RXRPC_CALL_CLIENT_AWAIT_REPLY is then narrowed in scope to indicate
     that all Tx packets have been ACK'd and we're now waiting for the
     reply to be received.

 (2) As per Wyatt Feng's original patch[1], the ACKALL handler then checks
     that the call state is one in which there might be stuff in the Tx
     buffer to ACK, but now this includes AWAIT_ACK rather than
     AWAIT_REPLY.  ACKALL packets are ignored if received in the wrong
     state.

     Note that unlike Wyatt Feng's patch, it's no longer necessary to check
     to see if the Tx buffer exists as this the state set now covers this.

 (3) Make the ACKALL handler use call->tx_transmitted rather than
     call->tx_top as the former is explicitly the highest packet seq number
     transmitted, whereas the latter has a looser definition.

Thanks to Jeffrey Altman for a description of the history of the ACKALL
packet[1].

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74430?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74430?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74430 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74430 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74430 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74430 is a high-severity 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-2026-74430 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-2026-74430/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74430/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74430
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74430
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74430

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74430/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.