# 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.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104645, BELL-CVE-2026-97612, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97612, GHSA-gqv9-8gxf-xx6g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97612

## 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.

## Is CVE-2026-97612 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97612 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97612 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97612 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-2026-97612/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97612/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97612
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97612
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97612

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97612/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.