CVE-2026-80906 net: packet: fix wrong transport_header when sending VLAN-tagged frame
A Linux kernel flaw in packet socket handling of VLAN frames causes uninitialized memory access, potentially leading to crashes or code execution.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-80906?
CVE-2026-80906 is a memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 4 Sep 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:
net: packet: fix wrong transport_header when sending VLAN-tagged frame
In packet_parse_headers(), when processing a VLAN-tagged frame, skb_set_network_header() is called to advance network_header past the VLAN tag to the inner protocol header. skb_probe_transport_header() is then called with skb->protocol still set to the outer VLAN EtherType (e.g. ETH_P_8021Q), while nhoff (derived from skb_network_offset()) already points past the VLAN tag to the inner protocol header.
In __skb_flow_dissect(), proto is initialized to ETH_P_8021Q and nhoff points past the VLAN tag. When the dissector hits case ETH_P_8021Q, it reads a struct vlan_hdr at nhoff via __skb_header_pointer(), but that offset contains the inner protocol header (e.g. an IP header). The bytes are misinterpreted as a VLAN header, yielding a garbage encapsulated EtherType that matches no known protocol. The dissector returns false, so skb_probe_transport_header() never calls skb_set_transport_header(), leaving transport_header at its uninitialized sentinel value (~0U).
Move skb_probe_transport_header() to before skb_set_network_header(). At the time skb_probe_transport_header() is called, network_header still points to the VLAN header, so nhoff correctly points to the VLAN header. The flow dissector can then parse the VLAN header, extract the inner EtherType, and advance nhoff to the inner protocol header, allowing transport_header to be set correctly.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80906?
How do I fix CVE-2026-80906?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-80906 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80906 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-99579, BELL-CVE-2026-80906, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80906, GHSA-wgjr-c9mx-3f4x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80906.