CVE-2026-98485

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem. This flaw allows a remote attacker to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) by sending specially crafted IPv6 packets to an affected system. The issue occurs when an IPv6 routing header match rule is configured with zero addresses, causing the packet inspection loop to bypass its termination condition. Consequently, processing matching packets triggers an out-of-bounds memory read, leading to a kernel crash.

This vulnerability is evaluated with Moderate severity for Red Hat Enterprise Linux because exploitation depends on an atypical firewall rule configuration that is absent by default, preventing unassisted remote attacks. Default firewall configurations across supported Red Hat platforms do not define IPv6 routing extension header rules with empty target criteria. Only environments where an administrator has explicitly loaded the routing match extension and configured non-strict evaluation with zero addresses are susceptible to kernel panics from incoming network traffic.

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.