High · published August 15, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_conntrack_reasm: guard mac_header adjustment after IPv6 defrag
nf_ct_frag6_reasm() slides the packet head forward to drop the IPv6
fragment header and then unconditionally advances skb->mac_header:
skb->mac_header += sizeof(struct frag_hdr);
On the NF_INET_LOCAL_OUT defrag path the skb has no link-layer header
yet, so skb->mac_header is still the "not set" sentinel (u16)~0U. Adding
sizeof(struct frag_hdr) wraps it to a small value (0xffff + 8 == 7),
after which skb_mac_header_was_set() wrongly reports a MAC header is
present and skb_mac_header() points into the headroom.
The reassembler has done this unconditional add since it was introduced;
it was harmless while mac_header was a bare pointer, but wrong once
mac_header became a u16 offset whose unset state is the ~0U sentinel
tested by skb_mac_header_was_set(). The sibling net/ipv6/reassembly.c
does the same relocation and does guard the adjustment; mirror the
guard here.