CVE-2026-97612 net: mpls: clear inner_protocol when the last label is popped
A stale network header offset in the Linux kernel MPLS path causes a massive out-of-bounds memcpy, leading to kernel crashes or potential code execution.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-97612?
CVE-2026-97612 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 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: mpls: clear inner_protocol when the last label is popped
skb_mpls_push() records the pre-encapsulation network header once, gated on !skb->inner_protocol. skb_mpls_pop() never clears that record, so it outlives the encapsulation it describes.
Open vSwitch can then re-push MPLS onto a packet whose inner_network_header still points at the older, deeper offset: push a label, pop every label, recirculate (ovs_flow_key_update() re-derives key->eth.type and resets network_header, but leaves inner_*), then push again. ovs_fragment() trusts the record:
skb->network_header = skb->inner_network_header;
so skb_network_offset() goes negative. The bound check is signed:
if (skb_network_offset(skb) > MAX_L2_LEN)
a negative offset passes it, and prepare_frag() widens the value:
unsigned int hlen = skb_network_offset(skb); memcpy(&data->l2_data, skb->data, hlen);
which is a ~4GiB memcpy out of a 30-byte per-CPU buffer.
Reproduced on v7.3-rc1. RDX is the truncated length, (unsigned int)(-8):
BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffffe8ffffc16000 #PF: supervisor write access in kernel mode Oops: 0002 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI RIP: 0010:memcpy+0x8/0x20 RDX: 00000000fffffff8 RSI: ffff888105d732db RDI: ffffe8ffffc16000 prepare_frag+0x3df/0x4e0 ovs_fragment+0x589/0x7e0 do_output+0x4ce/0x5e0 do_execute_actions+0x55d2/0x7b30 ovs_execute_actions+0xea/0x450
Same root-cause shape as commit 975b5b067f52 ("ipv6: sr: restore network header before routing and forwarding"): a stale network header offset reaching a consumer that widens it. Here it originates in the MPLS push/pop path.
Clear inner_protocol once the packet is no longer MPLS, so a later push re-records the current header. net/sched/act_mpls.c is the only other skb_mpls_pop() caller and gets the same fix; sch_frag.c saves and restores inner_protocol around fragmentation in the same way OVS does.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97612?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97612?
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-2026-97612 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97612 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-104645, BELL-CVE-2026-97612, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97612, GHSA-gqv9-8gxf-xx6g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97612.