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Advisory severityUnratedRed Hat Linux

Advisory [CVE-2026-52916] disallow unicast fragment in fragment

This Red Hat Linux security advisory covers CVE-2026-52916.

Aggregated and source-linked by VulniPulse. Data sources, validation and limitations.

CVE-2026-52916 Source published Source updated

VulniPulse record published Record updated

CVE-2026-52916
Affected products & platforms
Red Hat LinuxUnclassified
Open source advisory

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: frag: disallow unicast fragment in fragment batadv_frag_skb_buffer() is called by batadv_batman_skb_recv() when a BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packet is received.

Once all fragments are collected and the packet is reassembled, batadv_recv_frag_packet() calls batadv_batman_skb_recv() again to process the defragmented payload. A malicious sender can craft a BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packet whose reassembled payload is itself a BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packet (matryoshka-style nesting).

Each nesting level recurses through batadv_batman_skb_recv() without bound, growing the kernel stack until it is exhausted. Since refragmentation or fragments in fragments are not actually allowed, discard all packets which are still BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packets after the defragmentation process.

A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packets, which are designed to contain other fragmented packets.

This 'fragments in fragments' scenario causes the kernel to recursively process the packets without bound, leading to kernel stack exhaustion and ultimately a Denial of Service (DoS) for the affected system. Red Hat severity: not rated.

Weakness: CWE-770.

Is CVE-2026-52916 exploited?

No exploitation is reported in the sources VulniPulse tracks: CVE-2026-52916 is not in the CISA KEV catalog (checked ) and this advisory does not report exploitation. That is not proof the vulnerability cannot be exploited.

How do I fix CVE-2026-52916?

The advisory VulniPulse tracks names no fixed release. Follow Red Hat's guidance for workarounds and updates.

Confirm against the vendor advisory before you patch.

Affected versions

No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative. Check it before change work.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 15 days ago·verify at source

Fixed versions

No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists. Confirm against the vendor advisory.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 15 days ago·verify at source

Mitigation

The source record does not include mitigation steps. That does not mean no fix exists. Read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.

Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 15 days ago·verify at source

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