Vulnerability in Linux
CVE-2026-80738
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Check sk_state before sk_protocol in bpf_tcp_*_syncookie bpf_tcp_gen_syncookie and bpf_tcp_check_syncookie accept a socket pointer 'sk' with argument type ARG_PTR_TO_BTF_ID_SOCK_COMMON. However, they access sk->sk_protocol without validating whether 'sk' represents a full socket. Fix this issue by checking sk->sk_state != TCP_LISTEN before inspecting sk->sk_protocol in both bpf_tcp_gen_syncookie and bpf_tcp_check_syncookie. Since mini-sockets are never in the TCP_LISTEN state, the condition short-circuits and prevents dereferencing fullsock-specific fields.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.3 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (5.8th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 5.8% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.001
Affected products
- Linux — versions 5.2
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-80738?
- CVE-2026-80738 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 7.3/10. Published 2026-09-03.
- How severe is CVE-2026-80738?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.3 out of 10.