CVE-2026-74598 (CVSS 7.5)

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: fix Route Information option length validation rt6_route_rcv() validates the Route Information option (RFC 4191) length against the prefix length, but both checks are off by one. rinfo->length is the ND option length in units of 8 octets and it *includes* the 8-byte option header, so an option carrying N bytes of prefix has length == 1 + N/8. RFC 4191 section 2.3 requires length 3 when Prefix Length is greater than 64, and 2 or 3 when it is greater than 0. The code accepts length >= 2 and length >= 1 respectively. ipv6_addr_prefix() then copies prefix_len/8 bytes out of rinfo->prefix, so a Router Advertisement with (prefix_len=128, length=2) or (prefix_len=64, length=1) makes the kernel read up to 8 bytes past the end of the option. Those bytes end up in the prefix of the route that gets installed, so they are visible to userspace: # RA with a Route Information option (prefix_len=128, length=2) # followed by a source link-layer address option, 01 01 de ad be ef ca fe $ ip -6 route show 2001:db8:dead:beef:101:dead:beef:cafe via fe80::1234 dev veth0 proto ra ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the next option, read out of bounds When the Route Information option is the last one in the packet, those eight bytes come from the skb tail room instead. Reject the option lengths RFC 4191 does not allow.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0043

Probability of exploitation

0.36%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0b9e02f3bd31c888f2ccdc0ca08e546d6abe9c4d https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2f6f94eda12430fb41b24b44a71e2ea4e93561d7 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3b2231e358d26e3aec5d8040b1fb777af03c5f05 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7309529f257ae18e72112ef9f614edfd6df229bb https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7eac87396c44a312be457ef41d4c5687883be9a2 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d1ad8fb2ac6a1afb71dc22d9ae8efb4dda96c824 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/da64ed1f346ba84df574d6469fa2e422b2511719 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff3cb05289b8a4ef95fa7ea14c7d34818359edbb

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-74598? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: fix Route Information option length validation rt6_route_rcv() validates the Route Information option (RFC 4191) length against the prefix length, but both checks are off by one. rinfo->length is the ND option length in units of 8 octets and it *includes* the 8-byte option header, so an option carrying N bytes of prefix has length == 1 + N/8. RFC 4191 section 2.3 requires length 3 when Prefix Length is greater than 64, and 2 or 3 when it is greater than 0. The code accepts length >= 2 and length >= 1 respectively. ipv6_addr_prefix() then copies prefix_len/8 bytes out of rinfo->prefix, so a Router Advertisement with (prefix_len=128, length=2) or (prefix_len=64, length=1) makes the kernel read up to 8 bytes past the end of the option. Those bytes end up in the prefix of the route that gets installed, so they are visible to userspace: # RA with a Route Information option (prefix_len=128, length=2) # followed by a source link-layer address option, 01 01 de ad be ef ca fe $ ip -6 route show 2001:db8:dead:beef:101:dead:beef:cafe via fe80::1234 dev veth0 proto ra ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ the next option, read out of bounds When the Route Information option is the last one in the packet, those eight bytes come from the skb tail room instead. Reject the option lengths RFC 4191 does not allow. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-74598? +

CVE-2026-74598 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0043, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-74598? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

CVE-2026-74598