CVE-2026-52916: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: frag: disallow unicast fragment in fragment batadv_frag_skb

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: frag: disallow unicast fragment in fragment batadv_frag_skb_buffer() is called

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: frag: disallow unicast fragment in fragment batadv_frag_skb_buffer() is called by batadv_batman_skb_recv() when a BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packet is received. Once all fragments are collected and the packet is reassembled, batadv_recv_frag_packet() calls batadv_batman_skb_recv() again to process the defragmented payload. A malicious sender can craft a BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packet whose reassembled payload is itself a BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packet (matryoshka-style nesting). Each nesting level recurses through batadv_batman_skb_recv() without bound, growing the kernel stack until it is exhausted. Since refragmentation or fragments in fragments are not actually allowed, discard all packets which are still BATADV_UNICAST_FRAG packets after the defragmentation process.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.12%, higher than 2% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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