In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/packet: reset the MAC header on the packet-socket transmit path
packet_parse_headers() resets the MAC header only for a SOCK_RAW frame
whose socket did not bind a protocol. A protocol-bound SOCK_RAW socket,
any SOCK_DGRAM frame, and the legacy SOCK_PACKET path therefore leave
skb->mac_header unset here.
For frames sent via __dev_queue_xmit() this is harmless: it resets the
MAC header unconditionally. But the packet-socket PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS
path uses dev_direct_xmit(), which does not, so the frame reaches
ndo_start_xmit() with the MAC header unset. A driver that reads
eth_hdr(skb) on transmit then dereferences skb->head + (u16)~0, an
out-of-bounds access ~64 KiB past the head -- the same class fixed for
one consumer in commit f5089008f90c ("macsec: do not read an unset MAC
header in macsec_encrypt()").
packet_parse_headers() runs only on the transmit path, where skb->data
points at the start of the L2 header for every packet-socket type
regardless of its length: SOCK_RAW and SOCK_PACKET carry a user-supplied
header and SOCK_DGRAM has one built by dev_hard_header(). Reset the MAC
header unconditionally, mirroring __dev_queue_xmit(), so the frame is
anchored on the bypass path too.
Found by 0sec (https://0sec.ai) using automated source analysis;
verified against source and matched to the macsec KASAN report in
f5089008f90c. Compile-tested.
net/packet: reset the MAC header on the packet-socket transmit path
packet_parse_headers() resets the MAC header only for a SOCK_RAW frame
whose socket did not bind a protocol. A protocol-bound SOCK_RAW socket,
any SOCK_DGRAM frame, and the legacy SOCK_PACKET path therefore leave
skb->mac_header unset here.
For frames sent via __dev_queue_xmit() this is harmless: it resets the
MAC header unconditionally. But the packet-socket PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS
path uses dev_direct_xmit(), which does not, so the frame reaches
ndo_start_xmit() with the MAC header unset. A driver that reads
eth_hdr(skb) on transmit then dereferences skb->head + (u16)~0, an
out-of-bounds access ~64 KiB past the head -- the same class fixed for
one consumer in commit f5089008f90c ("macsec: do not read an unset MAC
header in macsec_encrypt()").
packet_parse_headers() runs only on the transmit path, where skb->data
points at the start of the L2 header for every packet-socket type
regardless of its length: SOCK_RAW and SOCK_PACKET carry a user-supplied
header and SOCK_DGRAM has one built by dev_hard_header(). Reset the MAC
header unconditionally, mirroring __dev_queue_xmit(), so the frame is
anchored on the bypass path too.
Found by 0sec (https://0sec.ai) using automated source analysis;
verified against source and matched to the macsec KASAN report in
f5089008f90c. Compile-tested.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
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Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sat, 22 Aug 2026 15:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/packet: reset the MAC header on the packet-socket transmit path packet_parse_headers() resets the MAC header only for a SOCK_RAW frame whose socket did not bind a protocol. A protocol-bound SOCK_RAW socket, any SOCK_DGRAM frame, and the legacy SOCK_PACKET path therefore leave skb->mac_header unset here. For frames sent via __dev_queue_xmit() this is harmless: it resets the MAC header unconditionally. But the packet-socket PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS path uses dev_direct_xmit(), which does not, so the frame reaches ndo_start_xmit() with the MAC header unset. A driver that reads eth_hdr(skb) on transmit then dereferences skb->head + (u16)~0, an out-of-bounds access ~64 KiB past the head -- the same class fixed for one consumer in commit f5089008f90c ("macsec: do not read an unset MAC header in macsec_encrypt()"). packet_parse_headers() runs only on the transmit path, where skb->data points at the start of the L2 header for every packet-socket type regardless of its length: SOCK_RAW and SOCK_PACKET carry a user-supplied header and SOCK_DGRAM has one built by dev_hard_header(). Reset the MAC header unconditionally, mirroring __dev_queue_xmit(), so the frame is anchored on the bypass path too. Found by 0sec (https://0sec.ai) using automated source analysis; verified against source and matched to the macsec KASAN report in f5089008f90c. Compile-tested. | |
| Title | net/packet: reset the MAC header on the packet-socket transmit path | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
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MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-08-22T15:32:38.862Z
Reserved: 2026-08-15T05:44:03.924Z
Link: CVE-2026-74667
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
No data.
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.