CVE-2026-72407 PUBLISHED

geneve: validate inner network offset in geneve_gro_complete()

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 09.08.2026 Published: 15.08.2026 Updated: 17.08.2026

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

geneve: validate inner network offset in geneve_gro_complete()

Even with both paths gated on gs->gro_hint, geneve_gro_complete() re-derives the inner dispatch type and length from the packet and the current gs->gro_hint, independently of geneve_gro_receive(). The two can disagree if gs->gro_hint flips under a concurrent geneve_quiesce()/ geneve_unquiesce() (sk_user_data is NULL across a synchronize_net()), or if the re-read option bytes differ from the ones receive parsed.

geneve_gro_receive() already records the inner network header position in NAPI_GRO_CB()->inner_network_offset. Have geneve_gro_complete() compute the offset it is about to dispatch at, adding ETH_HLEN in the ETH_P_TEB case where eth_gro_complete() steps over the inner MAC header, and bail out if it lands past inner_network_offset.

Use a lower bound rather than exact equality: between gh_len and the inner L3 header, geneve_gro_receive() may also have pulled an inner VLAN tag (vlan_gro_receive() advances the recorded offset past it), which only moves inner_network_offset further out. A valid frame therefore always satisfies inner_nh <= inner_network_offset, while a gh_len inflated by a hint gro_receive() did not honour dispatches past the validated inner header, i.e. the out-of-bounds completion. Only the latter is rejected.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS Score: 10

AV:N - The bug is in geneve_gro_complete() on the NAPI GRO receive path for UDP-encapsulated GENEVE frames; a remote peer can deliver crafted packets to a listening GENEVE UDP port on cloud/overlay hosts without local access. AC:L - An attacker can reliably trigger the mismatch by flooding GRO-eligible GENEVE frames with crafted GRO-hint options and timing them against geneve_quiesce()/geneve_unquiesce() during changelink, or self-trigger that race with CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user namespace. PR:N - Exploitation requires no credentials or capabilities on the victim; the attacker only needs network reachability to a host already running a gro_hint-enabled GENEVE tunnel, which is common on overlay networks. UI:N - Exploitation is fully automated through malicious network traffic and does not require any victim user action such as mounting filesystems or opening files. S:C - On cloud/overlay deployments a tenant VM or remote overlay peer can corrupt the hypervisor/host kernel through underlay GENEVE GRO processing, crossing the guest/host security boundary. C:H - When gro_complete() dispatches past inner_network_offset, eth_gro_complete() and inet_gro_complete() read headers from attacker-influenced out-of-bounds skb memory, enabling arbitrary kernel memory disclosure. I:H - The same out-of-bounds gro_complete dispatch writes header fields (e.g., iph->tot_len and iph->check in inet_gro_complete()), causing memory corruption that can be leveraged for arbitrary write or code execution. A:H - Out-of-bounds GRO completion can cause kernel oops/panic or forced skb drop under error paths, enabling repeatable remote denial of service against the host.

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from fd0dd796576e1a560e1441e665810129f0a82be0 to e2087447f562692ff0cd08a0554d8d4ad083aa5c (excl.)
  • affected from fd0dd796576e1a560e1441e665810129f0a82be0 to cbb0d30a1ad6fc9439b1dc9b4f5a7a9140d3b11f (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • Version 7.0 is affected
  • unaffected from 0 to 7.0 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 7.1.5 to 7.1.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.2 to * (incl.)

References