---
id: "CVE-2026-98955"
kind: "vulnerability"
aliases: ["CVE-2026-98955"]
title: "Linux kernel: flow dissector truncates packet length, corrupting transport offset"
severity: "unknown"
cvss: null
epss: 0.00209
exploited: false
status: "open"
category: "infrastructure"
products: []
ecosystems: []
tags: ["infrastructure", "linux-kernel", "self-hosted", "virtualization"]
not_affected_if: ["default-config"]
published_at: "2026-10-23T13:17:16+00:00"
first_seen_at: "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"
updated_at: "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"
sources: [{"source": "nvd", "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98955", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00"}, {"source": "epss", "url": "https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98955", "first_seen_at": "2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00"}]
---

# Linux kernel: flow dissector truncates packet length, corrupting transport offset

The Linux kernel's flow dissector casts packet length to a 16-bit value, so packets over 64KB can get a wrong transport header offset. The sources do not state a confirmed attacker outcome beyond this memory-offset corruption.

_Summary, check and fix written by a model from the sources; labelled as such._

## Timeline

- 2026-10-23T21:57:33+00:00 nvd https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98955
- 2026-10-25T12:38:50+00:00 epss https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-98955

## From the sources

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

flow_dissector: avoid u16 truncation of skb->len when computing thoff

__skb_flow_dissect() computes key_control->thoff using:

  key_control->thoff = min_t(u16, nhoff, skb ? skb->len : hlen);

min_t(u16, ...) casts both arguments to u16 before comparing them.
Whenever skb->len (or hlen) modulo 65536 is smaller than nhoff, the
truncated length wins and thoff is set to a bogus small value, even
when the dissection succeeded. For example, an IPv4/TCP frame with
skb->len == 65540 and nhoff == 34 gets thoff == 4, so callers such as
skb_probe_transport_header() point the transport header inside the
Ethernet header.

Such skbs are not exotic:
- At the time of commit d0c081b49137 ("flow_dissector: properly cap
  thoff field"), AF_PACKET with PACKET_VNET_HDR could already build GSO
  skbs larger than 64KB (MTU checks are skipped for GSO, and
  alloc_skb_with_frags() accepted up to MAX_SKB_FRAGS (17) order-0
  pages on top of the linear part).
- BIG TCP now makes skbs larger than 64KB common.
- The following patch makes tun_get_user() dissect IFF_TAP frames
  before eth_type_trans() pulls the Ethernet header, so a GSO frame
  carrying a 65522..65535 byte L3 packet will be dissected with
  skb->len in [65536, 65549].

Compare as u32 instead. If the resulting offset cannot be represented
in the u16 key_control->thoff, cap it to U16_MAX and report the
dissection as failed rather than silently returning a wrong transport
offset. thoff is still set on failure, as some callers (such as
eth_get_headlen()) use it regardless of the return value.

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_Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai_