High [CVE-2026-53235] add pskb_may_pull to skb_gro_receive_list
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-53235 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat package: kernel.
Android app · Google Play
Monitor future Red Hat Linux CVEs from your phone.
Choose a whole vendor or a precise platform, then receive matching security advisories by phone notification, email, or both. Coverage follows 32 official vendor sources and 160+ reviewed platform categories.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: add pskb_may_pull() to skb_gro_receive_list() skb_gro_receive_list() calls skb_pull(skb, skb_gro_offset(skb)) without first ensuring the data is in the linear area via pskb_may_pull().
When the skb arrives via napi_gro_frags(), skb_headlen can be 0 (all data in page fragments) while skb_gro_offset is non-zero (after IP+TCP header parsing). The skb_pull() then decrements skb->len by skb_gro_offset but skb->data_len stays unchanged, hitting BUG_ON(skb->len data_len) in __skb_pull().
The UDP fraglist GRO path already contains this guard at udp_offload.c:749. Adding it to skb_gro_receive_list() itself provides centralized protection for all callers (TCP, UDP, and any future protocols), and ensures the precondition of skb_pull() is satisfied before it is called.
On pskb_may_pull() failure, set NAPI_GRO_CB(skb)->flush = 1 so the skb is not held as a new GRO head and is instead delivered through the normal receive path, matching the UDP handling. A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's network Generic Receive Offload (GRO) handling.
An attacker sending specially crafted network packets could trigger a bug in the `skb_gro_receive_list()` function. This occurs when the system attempts to process network data that is not in the expected linear memory area, leading to an incorrect buffer length calculation.
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 9 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 9 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 9 days ago·verify at source
Discussion(0)
No comments yet. Share field notes, upgrade gotchas, or questions — verify against the vendor advisory before acting on community advice.
Sign in to join the discussion.