Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tcp: correct handling of extreme memory squeeze
Testing with iperf3 using the "pasta" protocol splicer has revealed
a problem in the way tcp handles window advertising in extreme memory
squeeze situations.
Under memory pressure, a socket endpoint may temporarily advertise
a zero-sized window, but this is not stored as part of the socket data.
The reasoning behind this is that it is considered a temporary setting
which shouldn't influence any further calculations.
However, if we happen to stall at an unfortunate value of the current
window size, the algorithm selecting a new value will consistently fail
to advertise a non-zero window once we have freed up enough memory.
This means that this side's notion of the current window size is
different from the one last advertised to the peer, causing the latter
to not send any data to resolve the sitution.
The problem occurs on the iperf3 server side, and the socket in question
is a completely regular socket with the default settings for the
fedora40 kernel. We do not use SO_PEEK or SO_RCVBUF on the socket.
The following excerpt of a logging session, with own comments added,
shows more in detail what is happening:
// tcp_v4_rcv(->)
// tcp_rcv_established(->)
[5201<->39222]: ==== Activating log @ net/ipv4/tcp_input.c/tcp_data_queue()/5257 ====
[5201<->39222]: tcp_data_queue(->)
[5201<->39222]: DROPPING skb [265600160..265665640], reason: SKB_DROP_REASON_PROTO_MEM
[rcv_nxt 265600160, rcv_wnd 262144, snt_ack 265469200, win_now 131184]
[copied_seq 259909392->260034360 (124968), unread 5565800, qlen 85, ofoq 0]
[OFO queue: gap: 65480, len: 0]
[5201<->39222]: tcp_data_queue(<-)
[5201<->39222]: __tcp_transmit_skb(->)
[tp->rcv_wup: 265469200, tp->rcv_wnd: 262144, tp->rcv_nxt 265600160]
[5201<->39222]: tcp_select_window(->)
[5201<->39222]: (inet_csk(sk)->icsk_ack.pending & ICSK_ACK_NOMEM) ? --> TRUE
[tp->rcv_wup: 265469200, tp->rcv_wnd: 262144, tp->rcv_nxt 265600160]
returning 0
[5201<->39222]: tcp_select_window(<-)
[5201<->39222]: ADVERTISING WIN 0, ACK_SEQ: 265600160
[5201<->39222]: [__tcp_transmit_skb(<-)
[5201<->39222]: tcp_rcv_established(<-)
[5201<->39222]: tcp_v4_rcv(<-)
// Receive queue is at 85 buffers and we are out of memory.
// We drop the incoming buffer, although it is in sequence, and decide
// to send an advertisement with a window of zero.
// We don't update tp->rcv_wnd and tp->rcv_wup accordingly, which means
// we unconditionally shrink the window.
[5201<->39222]: tcp_recvmsg_locked(->)
[5201<->39222]: __tcp_cleanup_rbuf(->) tp->rcv_wup: 265469200, tp->rcv_wnd: 262144, tp->rcv_nxt 265600160
[5201<->39222]: [new_win = 0, win_now = 131184, 2 * win_now = 262368]
[5201<->39222]: [new_win >= (2 * win_now) ? --> time_to_ack = 0]
[5201<->39222]: NOT calling tcp_send_ack()
[tp->rcv_wup: 265469200, tp->rcv_wnd: 262144, tp->rcv_nxt 265600160]
[5201<->39222]: __tcp_cleanup_rbuf(<-)
[rcv_nxt 265600160, rcv_wnd 262144, snt_ack 265469200, win_now 131184]
[copied_seq 260040464->260040464 (0), unread 5559696, qlen 85, ofoq 0]
returning 6104 bytes
[5201<->39222]: tcp_recvmsg_locked(<-)
// After each read, the algorithm for calculating the new receive
// window in __tcp_cleanup_rbuf() finds it is too small to advertise
// or to update tp->rcv_wnd.
// Meanwhile, the peer thinks the window is zero, and will not send
// any more data to trigger an update from the interrupt mode side.
[5201<->39222]: tcp_recvmsg_locked(->)
[5201<->39222]: __tcp_cleanup_rbuf(->) tp->rcv_wup: 265469200, tp->rcv_wnd: 262144, tp->rcv_nxt 265600160
[5201<->39222]: [new_win = 262144, win_now = 131184, 2 * win_n
---truncated---
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.6 | 6.6.76 |
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 14 | linux | 6.12.13-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.13-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-64.67 | USN-7651-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws | 6.8.0-1032.34 | USN-7651-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure | 6.8.0-1034.39 | USN-7737-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-nvidia | 6.8.0-1022.23 | USN-7737-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 6.8.0-1033.35 | USN-7651-4 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.11 +1 | 6.11.0-1015.15~24.04.1 | USN-7521-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1028.32 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 6.8.0-1015.17 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.11 | 6.11.0-26.26~24.04.1 | USN-7521-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm | 6.8.0-1029.29 | USN-7651-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency | 6.8.0-64.67.1 | USN-7651-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11 | 6.11.0-1014.15~24.04.1 | USN-7521-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 6.8.0-1031.34 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.11 | 6.11.0-1010.10 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-lowlatency | 6.8.0-1031.34.1 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 6.8.0-1008.8 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.11 | 6.11.0-1022.22 | USN-7521-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.8 | 6.8.0-1031.31 | USN-7651-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 6.8.0-1029.30 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1031.35 | USN-7651-6 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +2 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-xilinx | 6.8.0-1017.18 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 | 6.8.0-1032.34~22.04.1 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.8 | 6.8.0-1034.39~22.04.1 | USN-7737-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.8 | 6.8.0-1033.35~22.04.1 | USN-7651-4 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.8 +1 | 6.8.0-64.67~22.04.1 | USN-7653-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-ibm-6.8 | 6.8.0-1029.29~22.04.1 | USN-7651-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-64.67.1~22.04.1 | USN-7651-2 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.8 | 6.8.0-1031.34~22.04.1 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1029.30~22.04.1 | USN-7651-3 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2026.27 | USN-7651-5 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1025.26 | USN-7652-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | 6.8.1-1025.26~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips | 6.8.0-78.78+fips1 | — |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-64kb +5 | 6.4.0-150700.53.25.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4393-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150700.20.21.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4517-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150700.53.25.1.150700.17.17.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4393-1 |
| SLES 15 SP7 | kernel-docs | 6.4.0-150700.53.25.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:4393-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-64kb +3 | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.3 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150600.8.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4505-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.3.150600.12.36.3 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-docs +1 | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| SLES 15 SP6 | kernel-source | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | kernel-64kb +6 | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLES 15 SP5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1.150500.6.85.2 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | kernel-64kb +6 | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLES 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1.150400.24.118.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
Show 15 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 SP5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1.150500.6.85.2 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP5 | kernel-docs +4 | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1.150400.24.118.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | kernel-docs +4 | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-38.1.21.15 | SUSE-SU-2026:20496-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-rt +1 | 6.4.0-39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20059-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.1 | kernel-source +2 | 6.4.0-38.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20496-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-38.1.21.15 | SUSE-SU-2026:20473-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-rt +1 | 6.4.0-39.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20039-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.0 | kernel-source +2 | 6.4.0-38.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20473-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1.150500.6.85.2 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.14.21-150500.13.156.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3617-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.5 | kernel-source +1 | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1.150400.24.118.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.14.21-150400.15.181.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3616-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | kernel-source +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1.150400.24.118.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | kernel-rt +1 | 5.14.21-150400.15.181.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3616-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | kernel-source +1 | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150700.53.25.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4393-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7-RT_Update_7 | 1-150700.1.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4516-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP7 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP7_Update_7 | 1-150700.15.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4393-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-default | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.3 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6-RT_Update_18 | 1-150600.1.3.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4521-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP6 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP6_Update_18 | 1-150600.13.3.3 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP5 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP5 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP5_Update_44 | 1-150500.11.5.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP4 | kernel-default | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE Live Patching 15 SP4 | kernel-livepatch-SLE15-SP4_Update_58 | 1-150400.9.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP5 | kernel-64kb +5 | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP5 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150500.55.182.1.150500.6.85.2 | SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | kernel-64kb +5 | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | kernel-default-base | 5.14.21-150400.24.235.1.150400.24.118.3 | SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP7 | kernel-rt +2 | 6.4.0-150700.7.25.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4516-1 |
| SUSE Real Time Module 15 SP6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.61.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4521-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | dtb-aarch64 +3 | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-64kb +5 | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.3 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-azure +2 | 6.4.0-150600.8.58.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4505-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-default-base | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.3.150600.12.36.3 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-rt +3 | 6.4.0-150600.10.61.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:4521-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 15.6 | kernel-source | 6.4.0-150600.23.81.2 | SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 |
Oracle Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle Linux 9 | kernel-uek +34 | 6.12.0-101.33.4.3.el10uek | ELSA-2025-20530, ELSA-2025-20480 |
Advisories 28
- WID-SEC-2025-0453 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 11, 2026
- USN-7737-1 linux-azure, linux-azure-6.8, linux-azure-nvidia vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7653-1 linux-hwe-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-7651-3 linux-aws-6.8, linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-nvidia-lowlatency, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7651-2 linux-ibm, linux-ibm-6.8, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7651-4 linux-gcp, linux-gcp-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7651-6 linux-raspi vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7651-5 linux-raspi-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7652-1 linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7521-1 linux, linux-azure, linux-azure-6.11, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-6.11, linux-hwe-6.11, linux-oem-6.11, linux-raspi, linux-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7521-3 linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.11, linux-oracle vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- USN-7651-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-oem-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 30, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3595-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Sep 9, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3616-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 14, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3617-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 14, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:3593-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Aug 13, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20496-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20059-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20039-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4517-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20473-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4422-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4393-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4516-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4521-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:4505-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Feb 4, 2026
- ELSA-2025-20530 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Aug 18, 2025
- ELSA-2025-20480 Important: Unbreakable Enterprise kernel security update (Oracle Linux 9) Oracle Linux Security Advisories (ELSA) · Jul 17, 2025