CVE-2026-72235

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel (batman-adv component). The batadv_interface_rx() function, responsible for handling network packets, can reallocate its internal buffer. However, a pointer to the ethernet header is not correctly updated after this reallocation. This oversight leads to a use-after-free vulnerability, where the system attempts to access memory that has already been released. A remote attacker could potentially exploit this to cause a denial of service (DoS) or disclose sensitive information, impacting network traffic processing and isolation.

This flaw is evaluated as a Moderate severity issue because triggering the memory corruption requires specific network packet reception through a B.A.T.M.A.N. advanced interface, limiting the blast radius primarily to denial of service. In standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux deployments, the batman-adv driver is not enabled in supported kernels, substantially reducing environmental risk. Systems remain unexposed unless an administrator explicitly loads or compiles custom mesh networking support, where an adjacent attacker could induce an invalid memory access.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.