Highly exploitable, CVE-2026-68420 poses a critical security risk that could lead to severe breaches.
Status: Received on 10 Aug 2026, 13:20 UTC
Last updated: 🕕 17 Aug 2026, 06:17 UTC
Originally published on: 🕐 10 Aug 2026, 13:20 UTC
Time between publication and last update: 6 days
CVSS Release: version 3
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Secondary
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
CVE-2026-68420: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: reject optional IPTFS templates in outbound policies syzbot reported a stack-out-of-bounds read in xfrm_state_find() which flows from xfrm_tmpl_resolve_one(). Commit 3d776e31c841 ("xfrm: Reject optional tunnel/BEET mode templates in outbound policies") disallowed optional tunnel and BEET in outbound policies to prevent this. Later when IPTFS added, it was not covered by that fix and can still trigger the out-of-bounds read; Extend the check to disallow optional IPTFS in outbound policies as well. IPTFS should be identical to tunnel mode. IN and FWD policies are not affected: xfrm_tmpl_resolve_one() is only reachable via the outbound path. Reproducer, before: ip link add dummy0 type dummy ip link set dummy0 up ip addr add 10.1.1.1/24 dev dummy0 ip xfrm policy add src 10.1.1.1/32 dst 10.1.1.2/32 dir out tmpl src fc00::dead:1 dst fc00::dead:2 proto esp reqid 1 mode iptfs level use tmpl src fc00::dead:1 dst fc00::dead:2 proto esp reqid 2 mode transport ping -W 1 -c 1 10.1.1.2 PING 10.1.1.2 (10.1.1.2) 56(84) bytes of data. [ 64.168420] ================================================================== [ 64.169977] BUG: KASAN: stack-out-of-bounds in __xfrm6_addr_hash+0x11e/0x170 [ 64.169977] Read of size 4 at addr ffff88800e1ffd20 by task ping/2844 [ 64.169977] CPU: 2 UID: 0 PID: 2844 Comm: ping Not tainted 7.1.0-rc7-00180-geb23b588430a #98 PREEMPT(full) [ 64.169977] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (i440FX + PIIX, 1996), BIOS 1.16.3-debian-1.16.3-2 04/01/2014 [ 64.169977] Call Trace: [ 64.169977] <TASK> [ 64.169977] dump_stack_lvl+0x47/0x70 [ 64.169977] ? __xfrm6_addr_hash+0x11e/0x170 [ 64.169977] print_report+0x152/0x4b0 [ 64.169977] ? ksys_mmap_pgoff+0x6d/0xa0 [ 64.169977] ? entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e [ 64.169977] ? rcu_read_unlock_sched+0xa/0x20 [ 64.169977] ? __virt_addr_valid+0x21b/0x230 [ 64.169977] ? __xfrm6_addr_hash+0x11e/0x170 [ 64.169977] kasan_report+0xa8/0xd0 [ 64.169977] ? __xfrm6_addr_hash+0x11e/0x170 [ 64.169977] __xfrm6_addr_hash+0x11e/0x170 [ 64.169977] __xfrm_dst_hash+0x24/0xc0 [ 64.169977] xfrm_state_find+0xa2d/0x2f90 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_state_find+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_ftrace_graph_ret_addr+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_ftrace_graph_ret_addr+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] xfrm_tmpl_resolve_one+0x210/0x570 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_tmpl_resolve_one+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_stack_trace_consume_entry+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? kernel_text_address+0x5b/0x80 [ 64.169977] ? __kernel_text_address+0xe/0x30 [ 64.169977] ? unwind_get_return_address+0x5e/0x90 [ 64.169977] ? arch_stack_walk+0x8c/0xe0 [ 64.169977] xfrm_tmpl_resolve+0x130/0x200 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_tmpl_resolve+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_policy_inexact_lookup_rcu+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __refcount_add_not_zero.constprop.0+0xb2/0x110 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx___refcount_add_not_zero.constprop.0+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] xfrm_resolve_and_create_bundle+0xd5/0x310 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_resolve_and_create_bundle+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_policy_lookup_bytype+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_policy_lookup_bytype+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] xfrm_lookup_with_ifid+0x3d8/0xb80 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_xfrm_lookup_with_ifid+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? ip_route_output_key_hash+0xc6/0x110 [ 64.169977] ? kasan_save_track+0x10/0x30 [ 64.169977] xfrm_lookup_route+0x18/0xe0 [ 64.169977] ip4_datagram_release_cb+0x4c9/0x530 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_ip4_datagram_release_cb+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? do_raw_spin_lock+0x71/0xc0 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx_do_raw_spin_lock+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] release_sock+0xb0/0x170 [ 64.169977] udp_connect+0x43/0x50 [ 64.169977] __sys_connect+0xa6/0x100 [ 64.169977] ? alloc_fd+0x2e9/0x300 [ 64.169977] ? __pfx___sys_connect+0x10/0x10 [ 64.169977] ? preempt_latency ---truncated---
The exploitability of CVE-2026-68420 depends on two key factors: attack complexity (the level of effort required to execute an exploit) and privileges required (the access level an attacker needs).
CVE-2026-68420 presents an accessible attack vector with minimal effort required. Restricting access controls and implementing security updates are critical to reducing exploitation risks.
A lower complexity and fewer privilege requirements make exploitation easier. Security teams should evaluate these aspects to determine the urgency of mitigation strategies, such as patch management and access control policies.
Attack Complexity (AC) measures the difficulty in executing an exploit. A high AC means that specific conditions must be met, making an attack more challenging, while a low AC means the vulnerability can be exploited with minimal effort.
Privileges Required (PR) determine the level of system access necessary for an attack. Vulnerabilities requiring no privileges are more accessible to attackers, whereas high privilege requirements limit exploitation to authorized users with elevated access.
Above is the CVSS Sub-score Breakdown for CVE-2026-68420, illustrating how Base, Impact, and Exploitability factors combine to form the overall severity rating. A higher sub-score typically indicates a more severe or easier-to-exploit vulnerability.
Below is the Impact Analysis for CVE-2026-68420, showing how Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability might be affected if the vulnerability is exploited. Higher values usually signal greater potential damage.
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