Description
The napi_reuse_skb function in net/core/dev.c in the Generic Receive Offload (GRO) implementation in the Linux kernel before 2.6.38 does not reset the values of certain structure members, which might allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (NULL pointer dereference) via a malformed VLAN frame.
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 6.0 | linux-2.6 | 2.6.32-34squeeze1 | DSA-2240-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 | perf +13 | 2.6.32-71.24.1.el6 | RHSA-2011:0421 |
| RHEL 5 | kernel +11 | 2.6.18-238.9.1.el5 | RHSA-2011:0429 |
Show 1 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat MRG 2 | kernel-rt +10 | 2.6.33.9-rt31.75.el6rt | RHSA-2011:1253 |
Advisories 4
- RHSA-2011:1253 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel-rt security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- RHSA-2011:0421 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jun 28, 2026
- DSA-2240-1 linux-2.6 - several issues Debian Security (DSA / DLA) · Mar 9, 2026
- RHSA-2011:0429 Red Hat Security Advisory: kernel security and bug fix update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Jan 14, 2026
References
- http://mirror.anl.gov/pub/linux/kernel/v2.6/ChangeLog-2.6.38
- 20111013 VMSA-2011-0012 VMware ESXi and ESX updates to third party libraries and ESX Service Console mailing-list
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=6d152e23ad1a7a5b40fef1f42e017d66e6115159
- 8480 third-party-advisory
- 46397 third-party-advisory
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=691270
- http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git%3Ba=commit%3Bh=66c46d741e2e60f0e8b625b80edb0ab820c46d7a
- [oss-security] 20110328 CVE-2011-1478 kernel: gro: reset dev and skb_iff on skb reuse mailing-list
- http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2011-0012.html