Bug 2532487 (CVE-2026-80978)

Summary:	CVE-2026-80978 kernel: net: cap advertised IP tunnel headroom
Product:	[Other] Security Response	Reporter:	OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component:	vulnerability	Assignee:	Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status:	NEW ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	medium	Docs Contact:
Priority:	medium
Version:	unspecified	CC:	akhatavk, aos-team-art-private, asdas, dpaolell, jdelft, jupierce, lgarciaa, mbiarnes, ppalepu, ppostler, prdhamdh, rhel-process-autobot, sghai, sidsharm, suppawar, vlaad, 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, specifically within its IP tunnel devices. A local attacker could create a stack of user-controlled IP tunnel devices, causing the system to miscalculate the required memory for network packet headers. This miscalculation can lead to unnecessary memory reallocations during packet transmission, which may result in performance degradation for network operations.	Story Points:	---
Clone Of:		Environment:
Last Closed:		Type:	---
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Documentation:	---	CRM:
Verified Versions:		Category:	---
oVirt Team:	---	RHEL 7.3 requirements from Atomic Host:
Cloudforms Team:	---	Target Upstream Version:
Embargoed:

Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-09-11 23:26:14 UTC

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: cap advertised IP tunnel headroom

IP tunnel devices derive their advertised needed_headroom from lower
output devices. A stack of user-created devices can make the derived
value larger than the 16-bit skb header offsets can represent. Once IP
output reserves it, skb head expansion can wrap those offsets.

The runtime transmit path already caps a growing needed_headroom at 512.
Apply the same cap when tunnel configuration publishes needed_headroom
derived from a lower output device.

Capping the advertised value is safe: IP tunnel transmit still expands
the skb when a packet needs more headroom. A nonsensical stacked
configuration can therefore incur an extra reallocation, but it cannot
publish an unbounded reservation to upper layers.

Comment 1 Keith Grant 2026-09-14 18:40:11 UTC

Upstream advisory:
https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-80978.mbox