Medium [CVE-2026-72413] fix err_chunk memory leaks in INIT handling
This medium-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-72413 affecting Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.
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Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: fix err_chunk memory leaks in INIT handling When sctp_verify_init() encounters unrecognized parameters, it allocates an err_chunk to report them. However, this chunk is leaked in several code paths: 1.
In sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init(), if security_sctp_assoc_request() fails after sctp_verify_init() has populated err_chunk, the function returns immediately without freeing it. 2.
In sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(), the same leak occurs on the security_sctp_assoc_request() failure path. 3.
In sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(), on the success path after copying unrecognized parameters to the INIT-ACK, the function returns without freeing err_chunk, unlike sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init() which properly frees it.
Fix all three leaks by adding sctp_chunk_free(err_chunk) calls before returning in the error paths and on the success path in sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(). A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) implementation.
A remote attacker could exploit this vulnerability by sending specially crafted SCTP initialization parameters. This can lead to memory leaks within the kernel, potentially causing a denial of service (DoS) due to resource exhaustion over an extended period.
Red Hat severity: Moderate — CVSS 5.5 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H). Weakness: CWE-772.
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 1 hour 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 1 hour 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 1 hour ago·verify at source
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