Bug 2521452 (CVE-2026-74704)

Summary: CVE-2026-74704 kernel: net/sched: sch_cake: drop WARN_ON(1) for malformed packets in ACK filter
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
Severity: medium Docs Contact:
Priority: medium    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
Target Release: ---   
Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
Whiteboard:
Fixed In Version: Doc Type: ---
Doc Text:
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. The sch_cake ACK filter, responsible for processing network packets, contains a vulnerability. A remote attacker could send specially crafted malformed IP packets. This could lead to the system logging excessive warnings or, under specific configurations, cause a system crash, resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS).
 Story Points: ---
Clone Of: Environment:
Last Closed: Type: ---
Regression: --- Mount Type: ---
Documentation: --- CRM:
Verified Versions: Category: ---
oVirt Team: --- RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team: --- Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-22 15:46:18 UTC 
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/sched: sch_cake: drop WARN_ON(1) for malformed packets in ACK filter

The sch_cake ACK filter parses packets to find the TCP header and filter
duplicated ACKs if the flow is backlogged. The parsing code contains a
WARN_ON(1) which can be triggered by a malformed IP header in certain
cases. Depending on the system configuration, this leads either to
either spamming dmesg with warnings, or a panic if panic_on_warn is set.

The code already correctly skips the offending packet in the branch that
triggers the warning, so the WARN_ON itself doesn't really serve any
purpose. So just drop it altogether to avoid the inconvenient side
effects.
Comment 1 Keith Grant 2026-08-24 17:35:08 UTC 
Upstream advisory:
https://lore.kernel.org/linux-cve-announce/2026082236-CVE-2026-74704-ab92@gregkh/T