CVE-2026-53228
CRITICALCVE-2026-53228 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-53228 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
ipv6: sit: reload inner IPv6 header after GSO offloads
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-53228 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 0 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ipv6: sit: reload inner IPv6 header after GSO offloads
ipip6_tunnel_xmit() caches the inner IPv6 header pointer at function entry and continues using it after iptunnel_handle_offloads().
For GSO skbs, iptunnel_handle_offloads() calls skb_header_unclone(). When the skb header is cloned, skb_header_unclone() can call pskb_expand_head(), which may move the skb head. The pskb_expand_head() contract requires pointers into the skb header to be reloaded after the call.
If the later skb_realloc_headroom() branch is not taken, SIT uses the stale iph6 pointer to read the inner hop limit and DS field. That can read from a freed skb head after the old head's remaining clone is released.
Reload iph6 after the offload helper succeeds and before subsequent reads from the inner IPv6 header. Keep the existing reload after skb_realloc_headroom(), since that branch can also replace the skb.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 3.18.0&&< 5.10.259 | 5.10.259 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update Kernel to 5.10.259 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-53228 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-53228 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-53228. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-53228 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-53228 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.