CVE-2026-98299

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's TCP networking subsystem. A privileged local user can cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by configuring TCP receive buffer limits to an abnormally low value. This improper setting causes the kernel to encounter a division-by-zero error during buffer adjustment calculations when incoming network packets arrive, resulting in a system crash.

This vulnerability is rated as Moderate impact for Red Hat products because triggering the denial of service requires privileged access to modify kernel networking parameters, restricting the blast radius from unprivileged remote attackers. Default installations of Red Hat Enterprise Linux configure TCP receive buffer settings far above the affected threshold, meaning the flaw cannot be triggered unless an administrator or privileged container explicitly applies an extreme low-value configuration. Although the resulting arithmetic error leads to a kernel panic when inbound network traffic is handled, the issue cannot be leveraged for arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, or data exfiltration.

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.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.