---
id: CVE-2026-98852
title: 'kernel: net: extend IPv6 exthdr detection of tunneled packets (CVE-2026-98852)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's networking subsystem. An attacker could
  exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted encapsulated IPv6
  network traffic, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS). This issue stems from
  improper …
severity: medium
cvss: 5.9
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-125
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 6
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T15:23:08+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98852.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98852.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98852'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555240'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98852'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98852'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98852.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fdbd83c2d929ec968b37d2f75149a79440e328ff'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/44ba9dc568c878b699d05e7cf699572dc9df4b59'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aa480f05aed7a9eee87d4a6fc90647fe9679c670'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cabacdf98e09eb74599c4d97d7bd7fd659598fb7'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f0764cb1c81a9712bce605d38efe6d844a70b29'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00157
epssPercentile: 0.04763
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T16:47:32.463Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's networking subsystem. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted encapsulated IPv6 network traffic, leading to a Denial of Service (DoS). This issue stems from improper validation and parsing of IPv6 extension headers in tunneled packets, which can cause network packet drops or trigger unsafe memory dereferences leading to system instability.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98852.json)

**kernel: net: extend IPv6 exthdr detection of tunneled packets** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- 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