Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/packet: guard the ll header push in packet_rcv_spkt()
packet_rcv_spkt() restores the link layer header with
skb_push(skb, skb->data - skb_mac_header(skb));
That subtraction is only meaningful when the device actually has a link
layer header. packet_rcv() and tpacket_rcv() both wrap it in
dev_has_header(), which is also the predicate the block comment at the
top of the file states the restore in terms of; packet_rcv_spkt() does
not. commit d549699048b4 ("net/packet: fix packet receive on L3
devices without visible hard header") introduced the helper and changed
the two call sites, and this one stayed behind.
A device without a visible ll header can leave skb->mac_header at the
0xFFFF sentinel that __alloc_skb() initialises it to. A CAN skb does:
init_can_skb() sets pkt_type and ip_summed but does not reset the
headers, and commit 9f10374bb024 ("can: remove private CAN skb
headroom infrastructure") dropped the skb_reset_*_header() calls that
used to be there. skb_mac_header() is then 0xFFFF, the length becomes
a large negative number and skb_push() reports it through
skb_under_panic() -- from softirq context, so it is a full system panic
even with panic_on_oops=0:
skbuff: skb_under_panic: text:ffffffff8bd21bc1 len:-65455 put:-65471 head:... data:... tail:0x50 end:0x180 dev:can0
kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:214!
RIP: 0010:skb_panic+0x50/0x60
Call Trace:
<IRQ>
skb_push+0x38/0x40
packet_rcv_spkt+0xe1/0x170
__netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0+0x7e8/0xd30
...
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt
The socket type is reachable: packet_create() accepts SOCK_PACKET
alongside SOCK_RAW and SOCK_DGRAM behind the same CAP_NET_RAW check,
and neither the socket length nor a capability check keeps it away
from a CAN interface.
The missing skb_reset_*_header() calls in init_can_skb() are a
regression in their own right and are being fixed separately, but a
packet socket should not turn a link layer that did not initialise its
mac header into a kernel panic. Guard the push the way the other two
receive paths do.
Tested on v7.3-rc5 under QEMU with a slcan device on a pty, which is
the driver RX path: vcan does not reproduce it, because can_send()
resets the headers on the way out. One SOCK_PACKET socket bound to
can0 and one frame written into the line discipline panics an
unpatched kernel with the trace above; the same image with this patch
prints no panic and powers off normally. Both kernels are this tree,
defconfig plus CONFIG_CAN_SLCAN=y, differing only in this hunk.
net/packet: guard the ll header push in packet_rcv_spkt()
packet_rcv_spkt() restores the link layer header with
skb_push(skb, skb->data - skb_mac_header(skb));
That subtraction is only meaningful when the device actually has a link
layer header. packet_rcv() and tpacket_rcv() both wrap it in
dev_has_header(), which is also the predicate the block comment at the
top of the file states the restore in terms of; packet_rcv_spkt() does
not. commit d549699048b4 ("net/packet: fix packet receive on L3
devices without visible hard header") introduced the helper and changed
the two call sites, and this one stayed behind.
A device without a visible ll header can leave skb->mac_header at the
0xFFFF sentinel that __alloc_skb() initialises it to. A CAN skb does:
init_can_skb() sets pkt_type and ip_summed but does not reset the
headers, and commit 9f10374bb024 ("can: remove private CAN skb
headroom infrastructure") dropped the skb_reset_*_header() calls that
used to be there. skb_mac_header() is then 0xFFFF, the length becomes
a large negative number and skb_push() reports it through
skb_under_panic() -- from softirq context, so it is a full system panic
even with panic_on_oops=0:
skbuff: skb_under_panic: text:ffffffff8bd21bc1 len:-65455 put:-65471 head:... data:... tail:0x50 end:0x180 dev:can0
kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:214!
RIP: 0010:skb_panic+0x50/0x60
Call Trace:
<IRQ>
skb_push+0x38/0x40
packet_rcv_spkt+0xe1/0x170
__netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0+0x7e8/0xd30
...
Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt
The socket type is reachable: packet_create() accepts SOCK_PACKET
alongside SOCK_RAW and SOCK_DGRAM behind the same CAP_NET_RAW check,
and neither the socket length nor a capability check keeps it away
from a CAN interface.
The missing skb_reset_*_header() calls in init_can_skb() are a
regression in their own right and are being fixed separately, but a
packet socket should not turn a link layer that did not initialise its
mac header into a kernel panic. Guard the push the way the other two
receive paths do.
Tested on v7.3-rc5 under QEMU with a slcan device on a pty, which is
the driver RX path: vcan does not reproduce it, because can_send()
resets the headers on the way out. One SOCK_PACKET socket bound to
can0 and one frame written into the line discipline panics an
unpatched kernel with the trace above; the same image with this patch
prints no panic and powers off normally. Both kernels are this tree,
defconfig plus CONFIG_CAN_SLCAN=y, differing only in this hunk.
Published:
2026-10-23
Score:
n/a
EPSS:
n/a
KEV:
No
Impact:
n/a
Action:
n/a
Analysis
No analysis available yet.
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 available yet.
Remediation
No remediation available yet.
Tracking
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Advisories
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References
History
Fri, 23 Oct 2026 12:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/packet: guard the ll header push in packet_rcv_spkt() packet_rcv_spkt() restores the link layer header with skb_push(skb, skb->data - skb_mac_header(skb)); That subtraction is only meaningful when the device actually has a link layer header. packet_rcv() and tpacket_rcv() both wrap it in dev_has_header(), which is also the predicate the block comment at the top of the file states the restore in terms of; packet_rcv_spkt() does not. commit d549699048b4 ("net/packet: fix packet receive on L3 devices without visible hard header") introduced the helper and changed the two call sites, and this one stayed behind. A device without a visible ll header can leave skb->mac_header at the 0xFFFF sentinel that __alloc_skb() initialises it to. A CAN skb does: init_can_skb() sets pkt_type and ip_summed but does not reset the headers, and commit 9f10374bb024 ("can: remove private CAN skb headroom infrastructure") dropped the skb_reset_*_header() calls that used to be there. skb_mac_header() is then 0xFFFF, the length becomes a large negative number and skb_push() reports it through skb_under_panic() -- from softirq context, so it is a full system panic even with panic_on_oops=0: skbuff: skb_under_panic: text:ffffffff8bd21bc1 len:-65455 put:-65471 head:... data:... tail:0x50 end:0x180 dev:can0 kernel BUG at net/core/skbuff.c:214! RIP: 0010:skb_panic+0x50/0x60 Call Trace: <IRQ> skb_push+0x38/0x40 packet_rcv_spkt+0xe1/0x170 __netif_receive_skb_core.constprop.0+0x7e8/0xd30 ... Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception in interrupt The socket type is reachable: packet_create() accepts SOCK_PACKET alongside SOCK_RAW and SOCK_DGRAM behind the same CAP_NET_RAW check, and neither the socket length nor a capability check keeps it away from a CAN interface. The missing skb_reset_*_header() calls in init_can_skb() are a regression in their own right and are being fixed separately, but a packet socket should not turn a link layer that did not initialise its mac header into a kernel panic. Guard the push the way the other two receive paths do. Tested on v7.3-rc5 under QEMU with a slcan device on a pty, which is the driver RX path: vcan does not reproduce it, because can_send() resets the headers on the way out. One SOCK_PACKET socket bound to can0 and one frame written into the line discipline panics an unpatched kernel with the trace above; the same image with this patch prints no panic and powers off normally. Both kernels are this tree, defconfig plus CONFIG_CAN_SLCAN=y, differing only in this hunk. | |
| Title | net/packet: guard the ll header push in packet_rcv_spkt() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-10-23T12:21:37.662Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.387Z
Link: CVE-2026-99033
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-10-23T13:17:26.443
Modified: 2026-10-23T13:17:26.443
Link: CVE-2026-99033
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.