KernelScan.io

HIGH Introduced in 2.6.12

sctp StaleCookie Bypass

CVE-2026-80890

CVSS 8.6 / 10.0 KernelScan AI

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H

01

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: reject stale cookies with mismatched verification tags sctp_unpack_cookie() skips cookie expiration checks whenever an association already exists. This is broader than the exception in RFC 9260 Section 5.2.4. For an existing association, Section 5.2.4 permits an expired State Cookie only when both Verification Tags in the cookie match the current association. Otherwise, the packet SHOULD be discarded and a Stale Cookie ERROR MUST be sent. The broad check lets an expired Action A restart cookie reach sctp_sf_do_dupcook_a(). In a runtime test with the default 60 second cookie lifetime, replaying such a cookie after 65 seconds returned a COOKIE-ACK and restarted the association. Check cookie expiration unless both Verification Tags match. This preserves the Action D exception for a lost COOKIE ACK while rejecting expired cookies in all other cases.

02

Engine v0.6.0

Risk summary

Any device running the Linux SCTP stack that is reachable over the network is at risk. An attacker who has captured a valid SCTP State Cookie can replay it after expiration to force-restart an existing association, disrupting ongoing communications. The attack requires no privileges and can be repeated to cause sustained availability impact.

Affectednet/sctp/sm_make_chunk.c (SCTP protocol stack)

Vulnerability analysis

The SCTP cookie validation logic in the Linux kernel skips expiration checks whenever an association already exists, which is broader than the RFC 9260 exception that only permits expired cookies when both verification tags match the current association. This allows an attacker who captured a valid State Cookie during the initial handshake to replay it after it has expired and force the kernel to restart the existing association, returning a COOKIE-ACK and resetting protocol state. The fix tightens the expiration check so that stale cookies are rejected unless both verification tags in the cookie match the current association, preserving only the legitimate lost-COOKIE-ACK recovery path. The vulnerability is reachable from the network by any attacker who can send SCTP packets to the target and has previously captured a cookie, requiring no special privileges or local access.

03

BranchIntroducedFixed inPatch commit
5.102.6.125.10.265f6e3cc296372
5.152.6.125.15.216c151daba0ceb
6.12.6.126.1.183817cffdbdbdf
6.62.6.126.6.15161baa5020b0a
6.122.6.126.12.103c68557a49e96
6.182.6.126.18.44a0d1693923f4
7.12.6.127.1.835c279113498
mainline2.6.127.29d8da8e0a9bc