CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-53224

CriticalCVSS 9.1
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.55%

42th percentile — higher than 42% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel, sctp_unpack_cookie() lacked validation of the embedded INIT chunk length and address list length in SCTP cookies. A truncated INIT or oversized address list can cause out-of-bounds reads.

Risk Assessment

An attacker can send a crafted COOKIE_ECHO packet, leading to out-of-bounds memory reads, potential data leakage, or system instability.

Recommendation

Immediately update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit referenced in CVE-2026-53224). If an update is not possible, consider temporarily disabling SCTP cookie authentication.

Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: validate embedded INIT chunk and address list lengths in cookie sctp_unpack_cookie() only checked that the embedded INIT chunk length did not exceed the remaining cookie payload, but did not ensure that the INIT chunk is large enough to contain a complete INIT header. A malformed COOKIE_ECHO can therefore carry a truncated INIT chunk whose length field is smaller than sizeof(struct sctp_init_chunk). Later, sctp_process_init() accesses INIT parameters unconditionally, which may lead to out-of-bounds reads. In addition, raw_addr_list_len is not fully validated against the remaining cookie payload. When cookie authentication is disabled, an attacker can supply an oversized raw_addr_list_len and cause sctp_raw_to_bind_addrs() to read beyond the end of the cookie. The address parser also lacks sufficient bounds checks for parameter headers and lengths, allowing malformed address parameters to trigger out-of-bounds reads. Fix this by: - requiring the embedded INIT chunk length to be at least sizeof(struct sctp_init_chunk); - validating that the INIT chunk and raw address list together fit within the cookie payload; - verifying sufficient data exists for each address parameter header and payload before parsing it. Note that sctp_verify_init() must be called after sctp_unpack_cookie() and before sctp_process_init() when cookie authentication is disabled. This will be addressed in a separate patch.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS