Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sctp: discard the rest of the packet on a stale-cookie error

When an association is in COOKIE-ECHOED state and the peer sends a
bundled [ERROR(Stale Cookie)][DATA] packet from one of its non-primary
addresses, processing the ERROR chunk takes the non-fatal stale-cookie
retry path sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(), which queues
SCTP_CMD_DEL_NON_PRIMARY while keeping the association alive.
sctp_cmd_del_non_primary() removes every non-primary transport -
including the very transport this packet arrived on, which is still
referenced by the receive lookup and shared by all chunks of the
packet via chunk->transport.

sctp_assoc_rm_peer() does redirect asoc->peer.last_data_from away from
the removed transport, but right afterwards the bundled DATA chunk
makes sctp_assoc_bh_rcv() re-register
asoc->peer.last_data_from = chunk->transport unconditionally, undoing
the redirection with the just-removed transport.

Once the packet is done, the receive reference is dropped and the
transport is RCU-freed, while the surviving association keeps the
dangling last_data_from. A later FWD-TSN (or the delayed SACK timer)
makes sctp_gen_sack() dereference it (->param_flags and friends), and
sctp_make_sack()/sctp_outq_select_transport() may write to the freed
object and link it into the live transport list. This is a
use-after-free triggerable by any malicious SCTP peer (or a local
unprivileged user acting as one) with no capabilities required:

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_do_sm+0x498a/0x5660
Read of size 4 at addr ffff88800e1e356c by task poc/115
Call Trace: sctp_do_sm <- sctp_assoc_bh_rcv <- sctp_inq_push <-
sctp_rcv <- ip_protocol_deliver_rcu <- ip_rcv
Allocated: sctp_transport_new <- sctp_assoc_add_peer <-
sctp_process_init (INIT-ACK processing)
Freed: kfree <- sctp_transport_destroy_rcu <- rcu_core
(call_rcu queued by sctp_transport_put at end of sctp_rcv)
The buggy address is located 364 bytes inside of freed 1024-byte
region [ffff88800e1e3400, ffff88800e1e3800), cache kmalloc-1k

Note that commit 03a9d10ecf71 ("sctp: drop a chunk if its transport
was removed") only covers the window between the receive lookup and
the chunk processing (e.g. an ASCONF DEL-IP racing the socket backlog);
here the transport is removed *while* the packet is being processed,
by an earlier chunk of the same packet, so the drop in sctp_inq_push()
does not reach this path. Verified with the bundled [ERROR(Stale
Cookie)][DATA] + FWD-TSN reproducer: the KASAN report above still
fires with that commit applied, and is gone with this patch on top.

Fix it by discarding the rest of the packet on this path, as suggested
by Xin. After the stale-cookie ERROR has sent the association back to
COOKIE-WAIT and removed the non-primary transports, the remaining
chunks of the packet can only run against the restarted handshake
while referencing the removed arrival transport through
chunk->transport: besides the last_data_from registration above,
sctp_cmd_setup_t2() and the sctp_make_*() reply builders would also
copy that pointer into association-lifetime state that
sctp_assoc_rm_peer() has already sanitized. Let the peer retransmit
them, in line with what sctp_inq_push() does for chunks whose
transport was removed before processing.
Published: 2026-10-18
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: Remote Code Execution
Action: Immediate Patch
AI Analysis

Impact

A use‑after‑free condition exists in the SCTP implementation of the Linux kernel when a stale‑cookie error occurs on a non‑primary address while the association is in COOKIE‑ECHOED state. The kernel mistakenly keeps a reference to a transport that has already been freed, allowing subsequent SCTP packets to dereference or write through the dangling pointer. An attacker that can send malformed SCTP packets to the target can trigger this memory corruption, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges.

Affected Systems

The affected product is the Linux kernel across all versions lacking the recent patch that removes the stale‑cookie route. The issue is present before the commit that discards the remainder of the packet on stale‑cookie errors. No specific version list is provided, so any kernel installation susceptible to this bug must be considered vulnerable.

Risk and Exploitability

The vulnerability is classed as a kernel use‑after‑free that can be triggered via network traffic, placing the attack vector in the realm of Remote Network (SCTP). The CVSS score is not supplied, and the EPSS score is not available, but the lack of a KEV listing suggests no confirmed exploitation yet. However, kernel use‑after‑free flaws historically lead to remote code execution when triggered, making the risk high if the SCTP service is reachable from untrusted sources.

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 18, 2026 at 18:09 UTC.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.

OpenCVE Recommended Actions

  • Apply the kernel update that includes the fix or rebuild the kernel with the patch applied
  • If immediate updating is not possible, disable SCTP support by removing or blacklisting the ip_sctp module, or block SCTP traffic (port 5000) at the firewall
  • Continuously monitor kernel logs for use‑after‑free errors and ensure no SCTP services are exposed to external networks

Generated by OpenCVE AI on October 18, 2026 at 18:09 UTC.

Tracking

Sign in to view the affected projects.

Advisories

No advisories yet.

History

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 18:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416

Sun, 18 Oct 2026 15:30:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: discard the rest of the packet on a stale-cookie error When an association is in COOKIE-ECHOED state and the peer sends a bundled [ERROR(Stale Cookie)][DATA] packet from one of its non-primary addresses, processing the ERROR chunk takes the non-fatal stale-cookie retry path sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(), which queues SCTP_CMD_DEL_NON_PRIMARY while keeping the association alive. sctp_cmd_del_non_primary() removes every non-primary transport - including the very transport this packet arrived on, which is still referenced by the receive lookup and shared by all chunks of the packet via chunk->transport. sctp_assoc_rm_peer() does redirect asoc->peer.last_data_from away from the removed transport, but right afterwards the bundled DATA chunk makes sctp_assoc_bh_rcv() re-register asoc->peer.last_data_from = chunk->transport unconditionally, undoing the redirection with the just-removed transport. Once the packet is done, the receive reference is dropped and the transport is RCU-freed, while the surviving association keeps the dangling last_data_from. A later FWD-TSN (or the delayed SACK timer) makes sctp_gen_sack() dereference it (->param_flags and friends), and sctp_make_sack()/sctp_outq_select_transport() may write to the freed object and link it into the live transport list. This is a use-after-free triggerable by any malicious SCTP peer (or a local unprivileged user acting as one) with no capabilities required: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_do_sm+0x498a/0x5660 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88800e1e356c by task poc/115 Call Trace: sctp_do_sm <- sctp_assoc_bh_rcv <- sctp_inq_push <- sctp_rcv <- ip_protocol_deliver_rcu <- ip_rcv Allocated: sctp_transport_new <- sctp_assoc_add_peer <- sctp_process_init (INIT-ACK processing) Freed: kfree <- sctp_transport_destroy_rcu <- rcu_core (call_rcu queued by sctp_transport_put at end of sctp_rcv) The buggy address is located 364 bytes inside of freed 1024-byte region [ffff88800e1e3400, ffff88800e1e3800), cache kmalloc-1k Note that commit 03a9d10ecf71 ("sctp: drop a chunk if its transport was removed") only covers the window between the receive lookup and the chunk processing (e.g. an ASCONF DEL-IP racing the socket backlog); here the transport is removed *while* the packet is being processed, by an earlier chunk of the same packet, so the drop in sctp_inq_push() does not reach this path. Verified with the bundled [ERROR(Stale Cookie)][DATA] + FWD-TSN reproducer: the KASAN report above still fires with that commit applied, and is gone with this patch on top. Fix it by discarding the rest of the packet on this path, as suggested by Xin. After the stale-cookie ERROR has sent the association back to COOKIE-WAIT and removed the non-primary transports, the remaining chunks of the packet can only run against the restarted handshake while referencing the removed arrival transport through chunk->transport: besides the last_data_from registration above, sctp_cmd_setup_t2() and the sctp_make_*() reply builders would also copy that pointer into association-lifetime state that sctp_assoc_rm_peer() has already sanitized. Let the peer retransmit them, in line with what sctp_inq_push() does for chunks whose transport was removed before processing.
Title sctp: discard the rest of the packet on a stale-cookie error
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

Subscriptions

Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-10-18T15:18:16.510Z

Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.356Z

Link: CVE-2026-98548

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-10-18T16:17:06.767

Modified: 2026-10-18T16:17:06.767

Link: CVE-2026-98548

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-10-18T18:15:15Z

Weaknesses