Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
virtio_net: Fix misalignment bug in struct virtnet_info
Use the new TRAILING_OVERLAP() helper to fix a misalignment bug
along with the following warning:
drivers/net/virtio_net.c:429:46: warning: structure containing a flexible array member is not at the end of another structure [-Wflex-array-member-not-at-end]
This helper creates a union between a flexible-array member (FAM)
and a set of members that would otherwise follow it (in this case
`u8 rss_hash_key_data[VIRTIO_NET_RSS_MAX_KEY_SIZE];`). This
overlays the trailing members (rss_hash_key_data) onto the FAM
(hash_key_data) while keeping the FAM and the start of MEMBERS aligned.
The static_assert() ensures this alignment remains.
Notice that due to tail padding in flexible `struct
virtio_net_rss_config_trailer`, `rss_trailer.hash_key_data`
(at offset 83 in struct virtnet_info) and `rss_hash_key_data` (at
offset 84 in struct virtnet_info) are misaligned by one byte. See
below:
struct virtio_net_rss_config_trailer {
__le16 max_tx_vq; /* 0 2 */
__u8 hash_key_length; /* 2 1 */
__u8 hash_key_data[]; /* 3 0 */
/* size: 4, cachelines: 1, members: 3 */
/* padding: 1 */
/* last cacheline: 4 bytes */
};
struct virtnet_info {
...
struct virtio_net_rss_config_trailer rss_trailer; /* 80 4 */
/* XXX last struct has 1 byte of padding */
u8 rss_hash_key_data[40]; /* 84 40 */
...
/* size: 832, cachelines: 13, members: 48 */
/* sum members: 801, holes: 8, sum holes: 31 */
/* paddings: 2, sum paddings: 5 */
};
After changes, those members are correctly aligned at offset 795:
struct virtnet_info {
...
union {
struct virtio_net_rss_config_trailer rss_trailer; /* 792 4 */
struct {
unsigned char __offset_to_hash_key_data[3]; /* 792 3 */
u8 rss_hash_key_data[40]; /* 795 40 */
}; /* 792 43 */
}; /* 792 44 */
...
/* size: 840, cachelines: 14, members: 47 */
/* sum members: 801, holes: 8, sum holes: 35 */
/* padding: 4 */
/* paddings: 1, sum paddings: 4 */
/* last cacheline: 8 bytes */
};
As a result, the RSS key passed to the device is shifted by 1
byte: the last byte is cut off, and instead a (possibly
uninitialized) byte is added at the beginning.
As a last note `struct virtio_net_rss_config_hdr *rss_hdr;` is also
moved to the end, since it seems those three members should stick
around together. :)
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 6.12.91 – < 6.12.114, 6.15 | 6.12.114 |
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 | 6.18.8-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | linux | 6.12.115-2 | — |
| Debian 12 | linux-6.12 | 6.12.115-2~deb12u1 | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 25.10 | linux +8 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-6.17 | 6.17.0-1021.21~24.04.1 | USN-8604-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-azure-fde-6.17 | 6.17.0-1018.18~24.04.1 | USN-8605-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-gcp-6.17 | 6.17.0-1021.24~24.04.1 | USN-8570-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-hwe-6.17 | 6.17.0-41.41~24.04.1 | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-nvidia-6.17 | 6.17.0-1031.31 | USN-8669-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oem-6.17 | 6.17.0-1030.30 | USN-8594-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-oracle-6.17 | 6.17.0-1019.19~24.04.3 | USN-8570-2 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | linux-riscv +13 | No fix yet | — |
| 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 | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | linux-hwe-edge | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.14 | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu Pro Realtime 24.04 LTS | linux-realtime-6.17 | 6.17.0-1018.20~24.04.1 | USN-8570-1 |
Advisories 7
- WID-SEC-2026-0421 Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 12, 2026
- USN-8604-1 linux-azure-6.17 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 7, 2026
- USN-8669-1 linux-nvidia-6.17 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 6, 2026
- USN-8570-1 linux-gcp-6.17, linux-realtime-6.17 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 6, 2026
- USN-8570-2 linux-oracle-6.17 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 6, 2026
- USN-8594-1 linux-oem-6.17 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Nov 6, 2026
- USN-8605-1 linux-azure-fde-6.17 vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Oct 17, 2026