# 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.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 4 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-99579, BELL-CVE-2026-80906, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80906, GHSA-wgjr-c9mx-3f4x, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80906

## 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.

## Is CVE-2026-80906 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80906 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80906 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80906 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-2026-80906/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80906/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80906
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80906
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80906

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80906/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.