CVE-2026-63984 PUBLISHED

ipv6: rpl: fix hdrlen overflow in ipv6_rpl_srh_decompress()

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 19.07.2026 Published: 19.07.2026 Updated: 20.07.2026

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

ipv6: rpl: fix hdrlen overflow in ipv6_rpl_srh_decompress()

ipv6_rpl_srh_decompress() computes:

<pre>outhdr->hdrlen = (((n + 1) * sizeof(struct in6_addr)) >> 3); </pre>

hdrlen is __u8. For n >= 127 the result exceeds 255 and silently truncates. With n=127 (cmpri=15, cmpre=15, pad=0, hdrlen=16):

<pre>(128 * 16) >> 3 = 256, truncated to 0 as __u8 </pre>

The caller in ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() then places the compressed header at buf + ((ohdr->hdrlen + 1) << 3). With hdrlen=0 this is buf + 8, but the decompressed region occupies buf[0..2055] (8-byte header plus 128 full addresses). The compressed header overlaps the decompressed data, and ipv6_rpl_srh_compress() writes into this overlap, corrupting the routing header of the forwarded packet.

The existing guard at exthdrs.c:546 checks (n + 1) > 255, which prevents n+1 from overflowing unsigned char (the segments_left field), but does not prevent the computed hdrlen from overflowing __u8. n=127 passes because 128 <= 255, yet hdrlen=256 does not fit.

Tighten the bound to (n + 1) > 127. This caps n at 126, giving hdrlen = (127 * 16) >> 3 = 254, which fits in __u8. The compressed header then lands at buf + ((254 + 1) << 3) = buf + 2040, exactly past the decompressed region (buf[0..2039]). No overlap. 127 segments is well beyond any realistic RPL deployment.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 9.8

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to 75b3680047bf09af8e7e471a7a6ddf2ce5847f56 (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to fd238c51b0fa5390cceca9f1ac5a9ffda8063eed (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to 3618b34942b76471d044369bfd30d58c39068bf1 (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to 97e06791368c01f0ad2a4b3269c2abe19485ca32 (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to de02fc049352af5a9595f015511222d0a85c326b (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to 6fe1cb312038516cb4d9fa089d700af7059f1a64 (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to c0487a9c1e116cf349e2d1f302d9019670460858 (excl.)
  • affected from 8610c7c6e3bd647ff98d21c8bc0580e77bc2f8b3 to 9d5e7a46a9f6d8f503b41bfefef70659845f1679 (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • Version 5.7 is affected
  • unaffected from 0 to 5.7 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 5.10.259 to 5.10.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 5.15.210 to 5.15.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.1.176 to 6.1.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.6.143 to 6.6.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.12.93 to 6.12.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.18.35 to 6.18.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.0.12 to 7.0.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.1 to * (incl.)

References