CVE-2026-53012

MEDIUMCVSS 5.5/10EPSS 0.18%

Last modified

CVE-2026-53012 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nexthop: fix IPv6 route referencing IPv4 nexthop syzbot reported a panic [1] [2]. When an IPv6 nexthop is replaced with an IPv4 nexthop, the has_v4 flag of all groups containing this nexthop is not updated. This is because nh_group_v4_update is only called when replacing AF_INET to AF_INET6, but the reverse direction (AF_INET6 to AF_INET) is missed. This allows a stale has_v4=false to bypass fib6_check_nexthop, causing IPv6 routes to be attached to groups that effectively contain only AF_INET members. EPSS estimates a 0.18% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nexthop: fix IPv6 route referencing IPv4 nexthop syzbot reported a panic [1] [2]. When an IPv6 nexthop is replaced with an IPv4 nexthop, the has_v4 flag of all groups containing this nexthop is not updated. This is because nh_group_v4_update is only called when replacing AF_INET to AF_INET6, but the reverse direction (AF_INET6 to AF_INET) is missed. This allows a stale has_v4=false to bypass fib6_check_nexthop, causing IPv6 routes to be attached to groups that effectively contain only AF_INET members. Subsequent route lookups then call nexthop_fib6_nh() which returns NULL for the AF_INET member, leading to a NULL pointer dereference. Fix by calling nh_group_v4_update whenever the family changes, not just AF_INET to AF_INET6. Reproducer: # AF_INET6 blackhole ip -6 nexthop add id 1 blackhole # group with has_v4=false ip nexthop add id 100 group 1 # replace with AF_INET (no -6), has_v4 stays false ip nexthop replace id 1 blackhole # pass stale has_v4 check ip -6 route add 2001:db8::/64 nhid 100 # panic ping -6 2001:db8::1 [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=e17283eb2f8dcf3dd9b47fe6f67a95f71faadad0 [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=8699b6ae54c9f35837d925686208402949e12ef3

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
5.5/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.18%

8.3th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.3, < 5.10.258
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.11, < 5.15.209
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.16, < 6.1.175
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.2, < 6.6.141
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.7, < 6.12.91
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.13, < 6.18.33
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.19, < 7.0.10

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-53012?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nexthop: fix IPv6 route referencing IPv4 nexthop syzbot reported a panic [1] [2]. When an IPv6 nexthop is replaced with an IPv4 nexthop, the has_v4 flag of all groups containing this nexthop is not updated. This is because nh_group_v4_update is only called when replacing AF_INET to AF_INET6, but the reverse direction (AF_INET6 to AF_INET) is missed. This allows a stale has_v4=false to bypass fib6_check_nexthop, causing IPv6 routes to be attached to groups that effectively contain only AF_INET members. Subsequent route lookups then call nexthop_fib6_nh() which returns NULL for the AF_INET member, leading to a NULL pointer dereference. Fix by calling nh_group_v4_update whenever the family changes, not just AF_INET to AF_INET6. Reproducer: # AF_INET6 blackhole ip -6 nexthop add id 1 blackhole # group with has_v4=false ip nexthop add id 100 group 1 # replace with AF_INET (no -6), has_v4 stays false ip nexthop replace id 1 blackhole # pass stale has_v4 check ip -6 route add 2001:db8::/64 nhid 100 # panic ping -6 2001:db8::1 [1] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=e17283eb2f8dcf3dd9b47fe6f67a95f71faadad0 [2] https://syzkaller.appspot.com/bug?id=8699b6ae54c9f35837d925686208402949e12ef3
How severe is CVE-2026-53012?
CVE-2026-53012 has a CVSS score of 5.5/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.18% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-53012?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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Source: NVD / NIST