In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
sctp: move SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY right after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT
A null-ptr-deref was reported in the SCTP transmit path when SCTP-AUTH key
initialization fails:
==================================================================
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000018-0x000000000000001f]
CPU: 0 PID: 16 Comm: ksoftirqd/0 Tainted: G W 6.6.0 #2
RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_bundle_auth net/sctp/output.c:264 [inline]
RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_append_chunk+0xb36/0x1260 net/sctp/output.c:401
Call Trace:
sctp_packet_transmit_chunk+0x31/0x250 net/sctp/output.c:189
sctp_outq_flush_data+0xa29/0x26d0 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1111
sctp_outq_flush+0xc80/0x1240 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1217
sctp_cmd_interpreter.isra.0+0x19a5/0x62c0 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1787
sctp_side_effects net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1198 [inline]
sctp_do_sm+0x1a3/0x670 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1169
sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x33e/0x640 net/sctp/associola.c:1052
sctp_inq_push+0x1dd/0x280 net/sctp/inqueue.c:88
sctp_rcv+0x11ae/0x3100 net/sctp/input.c:243
sctp6_rcv+0x3d/0x60 net/sctp/ipv6.c:1127
The issue is triggered when sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key() fails in
sctp_sf_do_5_1C_ack() while processing an INIT_ACK. In this case, the
command sequence is currently:
- SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT
- SCTP_CMD_TIMER_STOP (T1_INIT)
- SCTP_CMD_TIMER_START (T1_COOKIE)
- SCTP_CMD_NEW_STATE (COOKIE_ECHOED)
- SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY
- SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO
If SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY fails, asoc->shkey remains NULL, while
asoc->peer.auth_capable and asoc->peer.peer_chunks have already been set by
SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT. This allows a DATA chunk with auth = 1 and shkey = NULL
to be queued by sctp_datamsg_from_user().
Since command interpretation stops on failure, no COOKIE_ECHO should been
sent via SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO. However, the T1_COOKIE timer has already
been started, and it may enqueue a COOKIE_ECHO into the outqueue later. As
a result, the DATA chunk can be transmitted together with the COOKIE_ECHO
in sctp_outq_flush_data(), leading to the observed issue.
Similar to the other places where it calls sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key()
right after sctp_process_init(), this patch moves the SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY
immediately after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT, before stopping T1_INIT and starting
T1_COOKIE. This ensures that if shared key generation fails, authenticated
DATA cannot be sent. It also allows the T1_INIT timer to retransmit INIT,
giving the client another chance to process INIT_ACK and retry key setup.
sctp: move SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY right after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT
A null-ptr-deref was reported in the SCTP transmit path when SCTP-AUTH key
initialization fails:
==================================================================
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000018-0x000000000000001f]
CPU: 0 PID: 16 Comm: ksoftirqd/0 Tainted: G W 6.6.0 #2
RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_bundle_auth net/sctp/output.c:264 [inline]
RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_append_chunk+0xb36/0x1260 net/sctp/output.c:401
Call Trace:
sctp_packet_transmit_chunk+0x31/0x250 net/sctp/output.c:189
sctp_outq_flush_data+0xa29/0x26d0 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1111
sctp_outq_flush+0xc80/0x1240 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1217
sctp_cmd_interpreter.isra.0+0x19a5/0x62c0 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1787
sctp_side_effects net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1198 [inline]
sctp_do_sm+0x1a3/0x670 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1169
sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x33e/0x640 net/sctp/associola.c:1052
sctp_inq_push+0x1dd/0x280 net/sctp/inqueue.c:88
sctp_rcv+0x11ae/0x3100 net/sctp/input.c:243
sctp6_rcv+0x3d/0x60 net/sctp/ipv6.c:1127
The issue is triggered when sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key() fails in
sctp_sf_do_5_1C_ack() while processing an INIT_ACK. In this case, the
command sequence is currently:
- SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT
- SCTP_CMD_TIMER_STOP (T1_INIT)
- SCTP_CMD_TIMER_START (T1_COOKIE)
- SCTP_CMD_NEW_STATE (COOKIE_ECHOED)
- SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY
- SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO
If SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY fails, asoc->shkey remains NULL, while
asoc->peer.auth_capable and asoc->peer.peer_chunks have already been set by
SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT. This allows a DATA chunk with auth = 1 and shkey = NULL
to be queued by sctp_datamsg_from_user().
Since command interpretation stops on failure, no COOKIE_ECHO should been
sent via SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO. However, the T1_COOKIE timer has already
been started, and it may enqueue a COOKIE_ECHO into the outqueue later. As
a result, the DATA chunk can be transmitted together with the COOKIE_ECHO
in sctp_outq_flush_data(), leading to the observed issue.
Similar to the other places where it calls sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key()
right after sctp_process_init(), this patch moves the SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY
immediately after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT, before stopping T1_INIT and starting
T1_COOKIE. This ensures that if shared key generation fails, authenticated
DATA cannot be sent. It also allows the T1_INIT timer to retransmit INIT,
giving the client another chance to process INIT_ACK and retry key setup.
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 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data.
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sat, 14 Feb 2026 15:15:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: move SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY right after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT A null-ptr-deref was reported in the SCTP transmit path when SCTP-AUTH key initialization fails: ================================================================== KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000018-0x000000000000001f] CPU: 0 PID: 16 Comm: ksoftirqd/0 Tainted: G W 6.6.0 #2 RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_bundle_auth net/sctp/output.c:264 [inline] RIP: 0010:sctp_packet_append_chunk+0xb36/0x1260 net/sctp/output.c:401 Call Trace: sctp_packet_transmit_chunk+0x31/0x250 net/sctp/output.c:189 sctp_outq_flush_data+0xa29/0x26d0 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1111 sctp_outq_flush+0xc80/0x1240 net/sctp/outqueue.c:1217 sctp_cmd_interpreter.isra.0+0x19a5/0x62c0 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1787 sctp_side_effects net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1198 [inline] sctp_do_sm+0x1a3/0x670 net/sctp/sm_sideeffect.c:1169 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x33e/0x640 net/sctp/associola.c:1052 sctp_inq_push+0x1dd/0x280 net/sctp/inqueue.c:88 sctp_rcv+0x11ae/0x3100 net/sctp/input.c:243 sctp6_rcv+0x3d/0x60 net/sctp/ipv6.c:1127 The issue is triggered when sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key() fails in sctp_sf_do_5_1C_ack() while processing an INIT_ACK. In this case, the command sequence is currently: - SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT - SCTP_CMD_TIMER_STOP (T1_INIT) - SCTP_CMD_TIMER_START (T1_COOKIE) - SCTP_CMD_NEW_STATE (COOKIE_ECHOED) - SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY - SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO If SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY fails, asoc->shkey remains NULL, while asoc->peer.auth_capable and asoc->peer.peer_chunks have already been set by SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT. This allows a DATA chunk with auth = 1 and shkey = NULL to be queued by sctp_datamsg_from_user(). Since command interpretation stops on failure, no COOKIE_ECHO should been sent via SCTP_CMD_GEN_COOKIE_ECHO. However, the T1_COOKIE timer has already been started, and it may enqueue a COOKIE_ECHO into the outqueue later. As a result, the DATA chunk can be transmitted together with the COOKIE_ECHO in sctp_outq_flush_data(), leading to the observed issue. Similar to the other places where it calls sctp_auth_asoc_init_active_key() right after sctp_process_init(), this patch moves the SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY immediately after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT, before stopping T1_INIT and starting T1_COOKIE. This ensures that if shared key generation fails, authenticated DATA cannot be sent. It also allows the T1_INIT timer to retransmit INIT, giving the client another chance to process INIT_ACK and retry key setup. | |
| Title | sctp: move SCTP_CMD_ASSOC_SHKEY right after SCTP_CMD_PEER_INIT | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
Sign in to view the affected projects.
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-02-14T15:09:54.756Z
Reserved: 2026-01-13T15:37:45.970Z
Link: CVE-2026-23125
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-02-14T15:16:07.740
Modified: 2026-02-14T15:16:07.740
Link: CVE-2026-23125
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.