Answer in brief
CVE-2026-72444 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in flow_dissector: check device type before reading ETH_ADDRS. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <0fe6455b8e1a22414f39c07bc90a1df12b52ec74 || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <9a65860959db594dfc1820c7fdc09285fb7556bf || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <594c90b197141944f25991b8314de5c26ee27a7e || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <c6d3bcb0f934d4297ac5fa1c8656ae40694fb601 || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <825de39f0c35a112148799b3cbe45af3766c018a || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <bf6e8af2c8be77489bedeae9f8a9654cb710e500 | 0fe6455b8e1a22414f39c07bc90a1df12b52ec74, 9a65860959db594dfc1820c7fdc09285fb7556bf, 594c90b197141944f25991b8314de5c26ee27a7e, c6d3bcb0f934d4297ac5fa1c8656ae40694fb601, 825de39f0c35a112148799b3cbe45af3766c018a, bf6e8af2c8be77489bedeae9f8a9654cb710e500 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 4.2 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: flow_dissector: check device type before reading ETH_ADDRS __skb_flow_dissect() unconditionally reads 12 bytes from eth_hdr(skb) when FLOW_DISSECTOR_KEY_ETH_ADDRS is requested. This assumes the skb has a valid Ethernet header at mac_header, which is not always the case. The problem can be triggered by: 1. Creating a TUN device in L3 mode (IFF_TUN, hard_header_len=0) 2. Attaching a multiq qdisc with a flower filter matching on eth_src 3. Sending a packet through AF_PACKET Since TUN in L3 mode has no link-layer header, mac_header points to the L3 data area. The flow dissector reads 12 bytes of uninitialized skb memory, which then propagates through fl_set_masked_key() and is used as a rhashtable lookup key in __fl_lookup(), as reported by KMSAN. Rejecting the filter in the control path (at tc filter add time) is not feasible because TC filter blocks can be shared between arbitrary devices -- a filter installed on an Ethernet device may later classify packets on a headerless device through a shared block. The device association is not fixed at filter creation time. Fix this by gating the memcpy on dev->type == ARPHRD_ETHER, which ensures only true Ethernet-framed packets have their addresses read. This is more precise than the previous hard_header_len >= 12 check, which would incorrectly pass for non-Ethernet link types like IPoIB (ARPHRD_INFINIBAND, hard_header_len=24) and FDDI (hard_header_len=21) whose L2 headers are not in Ethernet format. Additionally check skb_mac_header_was_set() to guard against the pathological case where mac_header is the unset sentinel (~0U), which would cause eth_hdr() to return a wild pointer. For the act_mirred redirect case (Ethernet packet redirected to a non-Ethernet device sharing a TC block), zeroing the key is the correct behavior: the packet is now being classified on the target device, where Ethernet address matching is not semantically meaningful. Note: on non-Ethernet devices, the zeroed key will match a filter configured with all-zero MAC addresses. This is an improvement over the previous behavior where uninitialized memory could randomly match any filter.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.
Answer in brief
CVE-2026-72444 records a Unknown severity vulnerability in flow_dissector: check device type before reading ETH_ADDRS. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <0fe6455b8e1a22414f39c07bc90a1df12b52ec74 || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <9a65860959db594dfc1820c7fdc09285fb7556bf || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <594c90b197141944f25991b8314de5c26ee27a7e || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <c6d3bcb0f934d4297ac5fa1c8656ae40694fb601 || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <825de39f0c35a112148799b3cbe45af3766c018a || >=67a900cc0436d74e7ff89042371760def087680d <bf6e8af2c8be77489bedeae9f8a9654cb710e500 | 0fe6455b8e1a22414f39c07bc90a1df12b52ec74, 9a65860959db594dfc1820c7fdc09285fb7556bf, 594c90b197141944f25991b8314de5c26ee27a7e, c6d3bcb0f934d4297ac5fa1c8656ae40694fb601, 825de39f0c35a112148799b3cbe45af3766c018a, bf6e8af2c8be77489bedeae9f8a9654cb710e500 |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 4.2 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Aug 15, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Aug 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: flow_dissector: check device type before reading ETH_ADDRS __skb_flow_dissect() unconditionally reads 12 bytes from eth_hdr(skb) when FLOW_DISSECTOR_KEY_ETH_ADDRS is requested. This assumes the skb has a valid Ethernet header at mac_header, which is not always the case. The problem can be triggered by: 1. Creating a TUN device in L3 mode (IFF_TUN, hard_header_len=0) 2. Attaching a multiq qdisc with a flower filter matching on eth_src 3. Sending a packet through AF_PACKET Since TUN in L3 mode has no link-layer header, mac_header points to the L3 data area. The flow dissector reads 12 bytes of uninitialized skb memory, which then propagates through fl_set_masked_key() and is used as a rhashtable lookup key in __fl_lookup(), as reported by KMSAN. Rejecting the filter in the control path (at tc filter add time) is not feasible because TC filter blocks can be shared between arbitrary devices -- a filter installed on an Ethernet device may later classify packets on a headerless device through a shared block. The device association is not fixed at filter creation time. Fix this by gating the memcpy on dev->type == ARPHRD_ETHER, which ensures only true Ethernet-framed packets have their addresses read. This is more precise than the previous hard_header_len >= 12 check, which would incorrectly pass for non-Ethernet link types like IPoIB (ARPHRD_INFINIBAND, hard_header_len=24) and FDDI (hard_header_len=21) whose L2 headers are not in Ethernet format. Additionally check skb_mac_header_was_set() to guard against the pathological case where mac_header is the unset sentinel (~0U), which would cause eth_hdr() to return a wild pointer. For the act_mirred redirect case (Ethernet packet redirected to a non-Ethernet device sharing a TC block), zeroing the key is the correct behavior: the packet is now being classified on the target device, where Ethernet address matching is not semantically meaningful. Note: on non-Ethernet devices, the zeroed key will match a filter configured with all-zero MAC addresses. This is an improvement over the previous behavior where uninitialized memory could randomly match any filter.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.