Linux Kernel: security vulnerability (CVE-2026-98375)
Published Last modified Sources: Debian LTS, Debian, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org, BSI
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xen/netfront: drop RX packets with a short Ethernet header handle_incoming_queue() pulls pull_to bytes into the head before calling eth_type_trans(). pull_to is the length of the first RX slot, capped at RX_COPY_THRESHOLD, and that length comes from the backend. Nothing checks it against ETH_HLEN.
Update Linux Kernel to version 6.6.160, Linux Kernel to version 6.12.113, Linux Kernel to version 6.18.56.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 2.6.23..6.6.160 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.7..6.12.113 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.18.56 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.19..7.2.10
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
6.6.160 - Linux Kernel
6.12.113 - Linux Kernel
6.18.56 - Linux Kernel
7.2.10 - Linux Kernel
7.3
- Linux Kernel
Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability
Metrics
7.0
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
7.0
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: Debian LTS, Debian, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org, BSI
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 8.2
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 65.53 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 7.0 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.0
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 8.2
- Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xen/netfront: drop RX packets with a short Ethernet header handle_incoming_queue() pulls pull_to bytes into the head before calling eth_type_trans(). pull_to is the length of the first RX slot, capped at RX_COPY_THRESHOLD, and that length comes from the backend. Nothing checks it against ETH_HLEN. If the first slot is shorter than ETH_HLEN and more slots follow, the head ends up shorter than an Ethernet header while skb->len is longer, and eth_type_trans() BUG()s in __skb_pull(). If the whole packet is shorter than ETH_HLEN, eth_type_trans() reads the header past the end of the data instead. Pull at least ETH_HLEN, and drop the packet if that fails, which also drops packets too short to hold an Ethernet header. This also checks the return value of the pull, which was ignored.
Source: Debian LTS Advisories, Debian Security Advisories, Microsoft Security Update Guide, NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, BSI CSAF, BSI WID Portal
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
|
| Open Source | Xen Linux guests |
|
|
Vendors and products
Affected operating systems
| Linux | debian | linux | trixie |
| Linux | debian | linux-6.12 | bookworm |
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/089e58805c452e52179482b1025a8e309a57f801
- xenbits.xen.orgxsa/advisory-522.html
- openwall.comlists/oss-security/2026/10/09/3
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/72d2f54367895d6e236b9857892e2e6b6036e067
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/e2b721bc30f40ffa7ccc36a56d4e8990b8c0538e
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/236a17caebcff31f75bec5ff4136bde2de944e40
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/0542d213253eec18785a24b603b28bd385dfe4a5
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedLinux
Show 2 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98375.json">CVE-2026-98375</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0542d213253eec18785a24b603b28bd385dfe4a5Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedLinux
1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98375.json">CVE-2026-98375</a>Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedLinux
Show 2 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98375.json">CVE-2026-98375</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/236a17caebcff31f75bec5ff4136bde2de944e40Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedLinux
Show 3 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98375.json">CVE-2026-98375</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/72d2f54367895d6e236b9857892e2e6b6036e067Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e2b721bc30f40ffa7ccc36a56d4e8990b8c0538eSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedCVE Program
New references:Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/10/09/3Source identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Show 2 older changes
Record modifiedCVE Program
New references:Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-522.htmlSource identifier: af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
ReceivedLinux
Description added or changed
Show 3 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xen/netfront: drop RX packets with a short Ethernet header handle_incoming_queue() pulls pull_to bytes into the head before calling eth_type_trans(). pull_to is the length of the first RX slot, capped at RX_COPY_THRESHOLD, and that length comes from the backend. Nothing checks it against ETH_HLEN. If the first slot is shorter than ETH_HLEN and more slots follow, the head ends up shorter than an Ethernet header while skb->len is longer, and eth_type_trans() BUG()s in __skb_pull(). If the whole packet is shorter than ETH_HLEN, eth_type_trans() reads the header past the end of the data instead. Pull at least ETH_HLEN, and drop the packet if that fails, which also drops packets too short to hold an Ethernet header. This also checks the return value of the pull, which was ignored.Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98375.json">CVE-2026-98375</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/089e58805c452e52179482b1025a8e309a57f801Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Embed badge
Show the severity and KEV status of this vulnerability on your site – with a link back here. The image is updated hourly.
<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-98375"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-98375.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-98375 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>