# CVE-2026-98078: ipvs: fix reversed sequence option serialization

> A bug in Linux kernel IPVS sync serialization leaves memory unwritten, potentially disclosing stale heap data to attackers.

- **Severity:** Medium 4.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:L`)
- **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-104762, BELL-CVE-2026-98078, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98078, GHSA-22jc-j6q2-9wv9, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98078

## What is CVE-2026-98078?

CVE-2026-98078 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, 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:

ipvs: fix reversed sequence option serialization

hton_seq() expects the host-order source first and the unaligned
network-order destination second. The version 1 sync sender passes these
arguments in reverse for both sequence blocks. This leaves 24 bytes of the
kmalloc-backed message unwritten. It may disclose stale heap data and
replace the live connection sequence state with values read from the
buffer.

Pass the connection sequence state as the source and the message payload as
the destination for both blocks.

Weakness: CWE-125 (Out-of-bounds Read)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98078?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-98078?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98078 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98078 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98078 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98078 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, 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-2026-98078 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. 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-2026-98078/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98078/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98078
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98078
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98078

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98078/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.