---
id: CVE-2026-98596
title: 'kernel: ipv6: Fix dst leak for uncached routes (CVE-2026-98596)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's IPv6 networking subsystem. A race
  condition during network device unregistration can lead to improper reference
  counting of uncached routes. A local attacker could exploit this flaw to cause
  an intern…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-772
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 6
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-20'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-20T05:00:38+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98596.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98596.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98596'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2554984'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98596'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98596'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98596.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5045aa25f3790dcdb158a58ac60ccf8da42959aa'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed902d5546fb9c142b3216d8eec914fa1bc0aa80'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f9722746df13a8a29103c847ef56b02c11ce0963'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be31fe6333f534155e6b408f1ef6d77974bb41aa'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00206
epssPercentile: 0.10481
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T15:45:12.246Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's IPv6 networking subsystem. A race condition during network device unregistration can lead to improper reference counting of uncached routes. A local attacker could exploit this flaw to cause an internal resource leak, leading to memory exhaustion and a Denial of Service (DoS).

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 · updated 2026-10-20 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98596.json)

**kernel: ipv6: Fix dst leak for uncached routes** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-20.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Out of support scope