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Response snapshot Oct 26, 2026, 23:36 UTC

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VulnerabilityCVE-2026-98968

Linux kernel: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path An skb queued in a qdisc can outlive the tunnel it references through a raw pointer in skb->cb.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
8.1 High (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.5% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-98968 (opens a new tab)

What happened

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path

An skb queued in a qdisc can outlive the tunnel it references through a raw pointer in skb->cb. For example, with igmp_qrv set to 1 on the relay a tunnel lives for 135s, so a netem delay of 180s on the amt device outlives it; when the tunnel expires and is freed, the subsequent dequeue triggers a use-after-free in amt_dev_xmit().

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in amt_dev_xmit+0x2763/0x2e20 Call Trace: amt_dev_xmit+0x2763/0x2e20 [drivers/net/amt.c:1262] dev_hard_start_xmit+0x22f/0x620 sch_direct_xmit+0x12e/0xac0 netem_dequeue+0x333/0xc50 net_tx_action+0x35c/0xa60

Continue reading

amt_send_igmp_gq() and amt_send_mld_gq() are only called from amt_request_handler(), inside the rcu_read_lock_bh() section of amt_rcv(). amt_request_handler() already has the tunnel the query is for: it found or created it inside that section. Queuing the query with dev_queue_xmit() only leads back into amt_dev_xmit(), which strips the Ethernet header and calls amt_send_membership_query() for that tunnel.

Make that call directly from the two senders instead, the same way amt_send_advertisement() transmits from the receive path. The query never waits in a qdisc, the tunnel is only dereferenced inside the RCU section that found or created it, and nothing is stored in skb->cb, so no lookup or refcount is needed. Remove the query branch of amt_dev_xmit(), amt_skb_cb() and struct amt_skb_cb, which have no users left.

Behaviour changes: - The relay's own General Queries no longer pass through the amt device's egress path: its qdisc, tc egress (clsact/tcx), the netfilter egress hook and packet taps. They are still visible as UDP on the underlay. - A query that is sent successfully is no longer counted as tx_dropped. The old query branch left through the unlock label, which counted every sent query as dropped.

- A query that reaches amt_dev_xmit() on a relay from elsewhere, such as a userspace querier, is now dropped at the IGMP/MLD type switch. Before, it trusted whatever skb->cb held, and a NULL tunnel hit the WARN_ON(1).

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

8.1

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.5%

Scored Percentile 42.2%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-98968 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-98968, scored 2026-10-26. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 24). Linux kernel: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path (CVE-2026-98968). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-98968

MLA

"Linux kernel: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path (CVE-2026-98968)." KEVWire, 24 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-98968.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path (CVE-2026-98968)." Last modified October 24, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-98968.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path (Oct 23, 2026).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

amt: send the relay's General Query directly from the receive path

An skb queued in a qdisc can outlive the tunnel it references
through a raw pointer in skb->cb. For example, with igmp_qrv set
to 1 on the relay a tunnel lives for 135s, so a netem delay of
180s on the amt device outlives it; when the tunnel expires and is
freed, the subsequent dequeue triggers a use-after-free in
amt_dev_xmit().

  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in amt_dev_xmit+0x2763/0x2e20
  Call Trace:
   amt_dev_xmit+0x2763/0x2e20 [drivers/net/amt.c:1262]
   dev_hard_start_xmit+0x22f/0x620
   sch_direct_xmit+0x12e/0xac0
   netem_dequeue+0x333/0xc50
   net_tx_action+0x35c/0xa60

amt_send_igmp_gq() and amt_send_mld_gq() are only called from
amt_request_handler(), inside the rcu_read_lock_bh() section of
amt_rcv(). amt_request_handler() already has the tunnel the query is
for: it found or created it inside that section. Queuing the query with
dev_queue_xmit() only leads back into amt_dev_xmit(), which strips the
Ethernet header and calls amt_send_membership_query() for that tunnel.

Make that call directly from the two senders instead, the same way
amt_send_advertisement() transmits from the receive path. The query
never waits in a qdisc, the tunnel is only dereferenced inside the
RCU section that found or created it, and nothing is stored in
skb->cb, so no lookup or refcount is needed. Remove the query branch
of amt_dev_xmit(), amt_skb_cb() and struct amt_skb_cb, which have no
users left.

Behaviour changes:
 - The relay's own General Queries no longer pass through the amt
   device's egress path: its qdisc, tc egress (clsact/tcx), the
   netfilter egress hook and packet taps. They are still visible as
   UDP on the underlay.
 - A query that is sent successfully is no longer counted as
   tx_dropped. The old query branch left through the unlock label,
   which counted every sent query as dropped.
 - A query that reaches amt_dev_xmit() on a relay from elsewhere,
   such as a userspace querier, is now dropped at the IGMP/MLD type
   switch. Before, it trusted whatever skb->cb held, and a NULL
   tunnel hit the WARN_ON(1).
CVSS 8.1 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 24, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98968).
EPSS 0.5% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 26, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98968&date=2026-10-26).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-98968: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98968
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?pubStartDate=2026-10-12T13:35:55.142Z&pubEndDate=2026-10-26T13:35:55.142Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=9000
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98968&date=2026-10-26
Record ID: CVE-2026-98968.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 26, 2026, 19:40 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Received. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

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