# CVE-2026-98550: tipc: reject invalid and unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG to prevent bc_ackers underflow

> An attacker can cause a denial of service in the Linux kernel TIPC module by sending invalid group acknowledgment messages that trigger an integer underflow.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 24 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109167, BELL-CVE-2026-98550, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98550, GHSA-xqp5-j42w-5fq8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98550

## What is CVE-2026-98550?

CVE-2026-98550 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 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:

tipc: reject invalid and unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG to prevent bc_ackers underflow

Commit 48a5fe38772b ("tipc: fix bc_ackers underflow on duplicate
GRP_ACK_MSG") rejected duplicate/stale ACKs in tipc_group_proto_rcv()
by returning early when less_eq(acked, m->bc_acked).

However, that check remains incomplete in two ways:

1. When grp->bc_ackers is zero (e.g. on a quiet group, when replicast
   ACKs were not requested, or after all expected members have already
   acknowledged), an unexpected GRP_ACK_MSG with acked > m->bc_acked
   passes less_eq() and unconditionally decrements grp->bc_ackers.
   Because bc_ackers is a u16, this wraps to 65535, causing
   tipc_group_bc_cong() to permanently report congestion and blocking
   all future group broadcasts on the socket.

2. During an active broadcast round (grp->bc_ackers > 0), the sender
   transmits packet S and advances grp->bc_snd_nxt to S + 1. Receivers
   increment their expected counter to S + 1 upon consuming packet S,
   so the only valid ACK value for the current round is strictly
   acked == grp->bc_snd_nxt.

   However, tipc_group_update_bc_members() initializes each member's
   m->bc_acked to prev = grp->bc_snd_nxt - 1 (S - 1 before increment).
   This leaves a 2-sequence gap (S - 1 to S + 1) in sequence space.
   An incoming ACK is therefore neither rejected as duplicate nor
   prevented from decrementing grp->bc_ackers if an unexpected or stale
   value (such as S) is received. A member sending acked = S followed
   by acked = S + 1 could decrement grp->bc_ackers twice in the same
   round, prematurely clearing bc_ackers or underflowing it.

Fix this by:
- Dropping GRP_ACK_MSG immediately if grp->bc_ackers is zero.
- Requiring acked == grp->bc_snd_nxt and rejecting duplicates where
  m->bc_acked == acked. Because replicast broadcast rounds are strictly
  sequential, only grp->bc_snd_nxt can be acknowledged, and each member
  can acknowledge at most once per round.

Note that a related pre-existing issue in tipc_group_delete_member()
(where grp->bc_ackers decrementing to zero upon member departure does
not restore *grp->open or trigger a socket wakeup) will be addressed
in a separate patch.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98550?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98550?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98550 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98550 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98550 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98550 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98550 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-2026-98550/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98550/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98550
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98550
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98550

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98550/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.