CVE-2026-64538: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: Fix null-ptr-deref in fib6_nh_mtu

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: Fix null-ptr-deref in fib6_nh_mtu_change().

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: Fix null-ptr-deref in fib6_nh_mtu_change(). fib6_nh_mtu_change() re-fetches idev via __in6_dev_get(arg->dev) and dereferences idev->cnf.mtu6 without a NULL check. addrconf_ifdown() clears dev->ip6_ptr with RCU_INIT_POINTER() after rt6_disable_ip() has released tb6_lock, so the RA-driven MTU walk can observe a NULL idev and oops. The caller rt6_mtu_change_route() guards its own __in6_dev_get(), but this re-fetch is unguarded; nexthop-backed routes survive addrconf_ifdown()'s flush, so the walk still reaches it after ip6_ptr is nulled. Return 0 when idev is NULL, matching rt6_mtu_change_route() and the fib6_mtu() fix in commit 5ad509c1fdad ("ipv6: Fix null-ptr-deref in fib6_mtu()."). Oops: general protection fault, ... KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x00000000000002a8-0x00000000000002af] RIP: 0010:fib6_nh_mtu_change+0x203/0x990 rt6_mtu_change_route+0x141/0x1d0 __fib6_clean_all+0xd0/0x160 rt6_mtu_change+0xb4/0x100 ndisc_router_discovery+0x24b5/0x2cb0 icmpv6_rcv+0x12e9/0x1710 ipv6_rcv+0x39b/0x410

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

What it means for a small business

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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 0.20%, higher than 9% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 28, 2026, updated daily.

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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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