Vulnerability in Linux
CVE-2026-89478
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: drop a chunk if its transport was removed sctp_rcv() resolves the transport once per packet and leaves it in chunk->transport. The lookup reference, or the one sctp_add_backlog() takes if the socket is owned by userspace, keeps it around until the chunk has been processed. An authenticated ASCONF DEL-IP can remove it in the meantime. sctp_assoc_rm_peer() takes the transport out of the association and calls sctp_transport_free(), which tags it dead and drops the reference the association held. There is a window on both paths: the packet can sit on the socket backlog, and on the direct path the lookup completes before bh_lock_sock(). The DATA chunk in that packet puts the removed transport back into asoc->peer.last_data_from. Once the packet is done that reference goes away and the transport is freed by RCU, so the next delayed SACK carries the pointer into the SACK chunk and sctp_outq_select_transport() reads the freed transport's state. Drop the chunk in sctp_inq_push(), next to the existing rcvr->dead check. Both paths reach it with the association's socket lock held. The peer retransmits it.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.005 (43.5th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 44th percentile — 43.5% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.008 · newest: 0.005 · change: -0.002
Affected products
- Linux — versions 2.6.12
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-89478?
- CVE-2026-89478 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-09-11.
- How severe is CVE-2026-89478?
- Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.