CVE-2026-68118
Received
Received - Intake
TCP Reset Handling Flaw in Linux Kernel
Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-68118, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.
Publication date: 2026-08-10
Last updated on: 2026-08-10
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tcp: challenge ACK for non-exact RST in SYN-RECEIVED
The SYN-RECEIVED request-socket path in tcp_check_req() accepts an
in-window RST without requiring SEG.SEQ to exactly match RCV.NXT. A
non-exact RST therefore removes the request instead of eliciting a
challenge ACK.
RFC 9293 section 3.10.7.4 applies the RFC 5961 reset check in
SYN-RECEIVED: an exact RST resets the connection, while a non-exact
in-window RST must trigger a challenge ACK and be dropped.
Apply that check before the ACK-field validation, following the RFC
sequence-number, RST, then ACK processing order. Factor the per-netns
challenge ACK quota out of tcp_send_challenge_ack() so request sockets
can share it. Use the request socket's send_ack() callback and its own
out-of-window ACK timestamp to send and rate-limit the response.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | * |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
KEV
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-UNKNOWN |
