CVE-2026-74598
Received Received - Intake

IPv6 Route Information Option Length Validation Bypass

Vulnerability report for CVE-2026-74598, including description, CVSS score, EPSS score, affected products, exploitability, helpful resources, and attack-flow context.

Publication date: 2026-08-22

Last updated on: 2026-08-22

Assigner: kernel.org

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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Meta Information

Published
2026-08-22
Last Modified
2026-08-22
Generated
2026-08-22
AI Q&A
2026-08-22
EPSS Evaluated
N/A
NVD
EUVD

Affected Vendors & Products

Showing 1 associated CPE
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel *

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

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CWE ID Description
CWE-UNKNOWN

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Executive Summary

This vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves incorrect validation of the Route Information option length in IPv6 packets. The code checks the option length against the prefix length but is off by one, allowing out-of-bounds memory reads. This can lead to exposure of unrelated data in kernel routing information.

Detection Guidance

This vulnerability involves improper validation of IPv6 Route Information options. Detection requires monitoring for malformed IPv6 Router Advertisements with invalid Route Information option lengths. Use packet capture tools like tcpdump or Wireshark to inspect IPv6 RA packets for options with length values not compliant with RFC 4191 (e.g., length 1 when prefix length > 0 or length != 2/3 when prefix length > 64).

Commands: tcpdump -i any 'icmp6 and ip6[40] == 13' -v to filter RA packets. Check for options with length 1 or values outside RFC 4191 ranges. Kernel logs may also show route installation issues.

Impact Analysis

An attacker could craft malicious IPv6 packets to read sensitive memory from the kernel. This might expose network routes or other data to userspace applications, potentially leading to information disclosure or further exploitation.

Mitigation Strategies

Apply the Linux kernel patch that fixes the Route Information option length validation. Update to a patched kernel version. If patching is not immediately possible, disable IPv6 Router Advertisements on affected interfaces or filter malformed RAs at the network perimeter using firewall rules.

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