CVE-2026-98402 net: icmp: avoid invalid transport header access in icmp_send tracepoint
A missing check in the Linux kernel ICMP tracepoint causes a null pointer dereference when processing non-UDP packets, leading to a system crash.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-98402?
CVE-2026-98402 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 14 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: icmp: avoid invalid transport header access in icmp_send tracepoint
syzbot reported a WARNING triggered by DEBUG_NET_WARN_ON_ONCE():
WARNING: at skb_transport_header include/linux/skbuff.h:3087 [inline] WARNING: at udp_hdr include/linux/udp.h:23 [inline] WARNING: at do_trace_event_raw_event_icmp_send include/trace/events/icmp.h:30 [inline] WARNING: at trace_event_raw_event_icmp_send+0x48c/0x6ec include/trace/events/icmp.h:11 Call trace: skb_transport_header include/linux/skbuff.h:3087 [inline] udp_hdr include/linux/udp.h:23 [inline] do_trace_event_raw_event_icmp_send include/trace/events/icmp.h:30 [inline] trace_event_raw_event_icmp_send+0x48c/0x6ec include/trace/events/icmp.h:11 __traceiter_icmp_send include/trace/events/icmp.h:11 [inline] __do_trace_icmp_send include/trace/events/icmp.h:11 [inline] trace_icmp_send+0x320/0x49c include/trace/events/icmp.h:11 __icmp_send+0xcfc/0x11d8 net/ipv4/icmp.c:1013 ipv4_send_dest_unreach net/ipv4/route.c:1280 [inline] ipv4_link_failure+0x57c/0x8dc net/ipv4/route.c:1287 dst_link_failure include/net/dst.h:438 [inline] vti_tunnel_xmit+0xe40/0x17a4 net/ipv4/ip_vti.c:307
TP_fast_assign() unconditionally calls udp_hdr(skb) before checking whether the packet is UDP. Furthermore, __icmp_send() can be invoked from paths (e.g., link failures, ARP errors, forwarding, AF_PACKET) where skb->transport_header was never initialized (~0U).
Under CONFIG_DEBUG_NET=y, calling skb_transport_header(skb) triggers DEBUG_NET_WARN_ON_ONCE(!skb_transport_header_was_set(skb)).
Fix this by: 1. Only parsing transport info when iph->protocol == IPPROTO_UDP. 2. Using skb_header_pointer() at skb_network_offset(skb) + (iph->ihl << 2) to safely fetch the UDP header without assuming transport_header is set.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98402?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98402?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-98402 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98402 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-108113, BELL-CVE-2026-98402, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98402, GHSA-ggf3-fm45-ccm2, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98402.