---
id: CVE-2026-98123
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  sctp: fix soft lockup from unpadded ASCONF-ACK parameter iteration

  sctp_verify_asconf() walks ASCONF-ACK parameters with
  sctp_walk_params(), which advances by SCTP_PAD…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  sctp: fix soft lockup from unpadded ASCONF-ACK parameter iteration

  sctp_verify_asconf() walks ASCONF-ACK parameters with
  sctp_walk_params(), which advances by SCTP_PAD…
severity: none
vendor: Linux
product: Linux
affected:
  - >-
    Linux >= 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <
    abf59d7f6fff23227256e8199aca5ade45758f8b
  - >-
    Linux >= 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <
    3be02999ab9131a4b96eb1eda4ca48b1cea80f03
  - >-
    Linux >= 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <
    7ba84e2971d208a2d6413a334ec28a8a32cdce0f
  - >-
    Linux >= 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <
    2cb0b0b1ed69430bf73740377ea0a1c44c50db63
  - Linux 2.6.12
published: '2026-09-25'
updated: '2026-09-25'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-25T11:17:43.600'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98123'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cb0b0b1ed69430bf73740377ea0a1c44c50db63'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3be02999ab9131a4b96eb1eda4ca48b1cea80f03'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7ba84e2971d208a2d6413a334ec28a8a32cdce0f'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/abf59d7f6fff23227256e8199aca5ade45758f8b'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-09-25T11:06:38.821Z'
---

## Overview

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

sctp: fix soft lockup from unpadded ASCONF-ACK parameter iteration

sctp_verify_asconf() walks ASCONF-ACK parameters with
sctp_walk_params(), which advances by SCTP_PAD4(length), while the
consumer sctp_get_asconf_response() iterates the same parameters
advancing by the raw length, without padding. A single odd-length
parameter desynchronises the two walks and makes the consumer
interpret attacker-controlled bytes at a misaligned offset.

When those bytes yield a length of zero, the while loop over
asconf_ack_len makes no progress, spinning forever in softirq
context, and the watchdog reports a soft lockup. All reads stay
within the received skb, so the lockup is a pure remote denial of
service. A remote peer can trigger it with a crafted ASCONF-ACK on
an ADD-IP enabled association with an outstanding ASCONF (RFC 5061
section 4.1.2 requires the chunk to be authenticated, but the
predefined empty key id 0 allows the peer to compute the same
association HMAC from publicly exchanged parameters, so the gate
does not help).

The SCTP_PARAM_ERR_CAUSE case of sctp_verify_asconf() also performs
no length check, letting a parameter without a complete error
header reach the consumer, which reads errhdr.cause past the end of
the parameter, an out-of-bounds read.

Reject SCTP_PARAM_ERR_CAUSE parameters shorter than
sizeof(struct sctp_addip_param) + sizeof(struct sctp_errhdr) at the
verifier, and advance the consumer iterator with the same padding
rule as the verifier to keep the two walks in lockstep. The verifier
change guarantees a complete error header in every ERR_CAUSE
parameter the consumer can see, so the consumer's asconf_ack_len
check is dropped and it returns err_param->cause directly. The
consumer padding fix is still required because odd lengths remain
valid for SCTP_PARAM_ERR_CAUSE per RFC 5061.

The issue was found by ZeroHive, a vulnerability hunting agent at
Tencent Yunding Lab.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.