---
id: CVE-2026-53224
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  sctp: validate embedded INIT chunk and address list lengths in cookie

  sctp_unpack_cookie() only checked that the embedded INIT chunk length
  did not exceed the remainin…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  sctp: validate embedded INIT chunk and address list lengths in cookie

  sctp_unpack_cookie() only checked that the embedded INIT chunk length
  did not exceed the remainin…
severity: critical
cvss: 9.1
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H'
cwe:
  - CWE-125
vendor: linux
product: linux_kernel
affected:
  - 'linux_kernel >= 2.6.12.1, < 6.18.36'
  - 'linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 7.0.13'
  - linux_kernel = 2.6.12
  - linux_kernel = 7.1
patched:
  - linux_kernel 7.0.13
published: '2026-06-25'
updated: '2026-07-02'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53224'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/512a9bb77c04ac9927648ea58af617e472be96e6'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6f4c80a2a7e6d06753b89a578b710a2499a5e62b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7560afb8cddafd829e709d7ea09230e45a825557'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00745
epssPercentile: 0.52831
ingestedAt: '2026-07-03T13:02:28.065Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sctp: validate embedded INIT chunk and address list lengths in cookie

sctp_unpack_cookie() only checked that the embedded INIT chunk length
did not exceed the remaining cookie payload, but did not ensure that the
INIT chunk is large enough to contain a complete INIT header.

A malformed COOKIE_ECHO can therefore carry a truncated INIT chunk whose
length field is smaller than sizeof(struct sctp_init_chunk).  Later,
sctp_process_init() accesses INIT parameters unconditionally, which may
lead to out-of-bounds reads.

In addition, raw_addr_list_len is not fully validated against the
remaining cookie payload. When cookie authentication is disabled, an
attacker can supply an oversized raw_addr_list_len and cause
sctp_raw_to_bind_addrs() to read beyond the end of the cookie. The
address parser also lacks sufficient bounds checks for parameter headers
and lengths, allowing malformed address parameters to trigger
out-of-bounds reads.

Fix this by:

- requiring the embedded INIT chunk length to be at least sizeof(struct
  sctp_init_chunk);
- validating that the INIT chunk and raw address list together fit
  within the cookie payload;
- verifying sufficient data exists for each address parameter header and
  payload before parsing it.

Note that sctp_verify_init() must be called after sctp_unpack_cookie()
and before sctp_process_init() when cookie authentication is disabled.
This will be addressed in a separate patch.

## Affected

- `linux_kernel >= 2.6.12.1, < 6.18.36`
- `linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 7.0.13`
- `linux_kernel = 2.6.12`
- `linux_kernel = 7.1`

## Remediation

Upgrade past the affected range:

- `linux_kernel 7.0.13`