High [CVE-2026-52942] validate MAC header was set before dumping it
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-52942 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9.
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Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_log: validate MAC header was set before dumping it The fallback path of dump_mac_header() guards the MAC header access only with "skb->mac_header!= skb->network_header", without checking skb_mac_header_was_set().
When the MAC header is unset, mac_header is 0xffff, so the test passes and skb_mac_header(skb) returns skb->head + 0xffff, ~64 KiB past the buffer; the loop then reads dev->hard_header_len bytes out of bounds into the kernel log.
This is reachable via the netdev logger: nf_log_unknown_packet() calls dump_mac_header() unconditionally, and an skb sent through AF_PACKET with PACKET_QDISC_BYPASS reaches the egress hook with mac_header still unset (__dev_queue_xmit(), which would reset it, is bypassed).
Add the skb_mac_header_was_set() check the ARPHRD_ETHER path already uses, and replace the open-coded MAC header length test with skb_mac_header_len(). Only skbs with an unset MAC header are affected; valid ones are dumped as before.
Affected products named by the advisory: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9; Red Hat package: kernel-rt.
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 8 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 8 days ago·verify at source
Mitigation
The source record does not include mitigation steps. That is not a statement that no fix exists — read the vendor advisory below for the authoritative guidance.
Official advisory · medium-confidence parse· fetched 8 days ago·verify at source
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