Ethical Hacking News
A recently identified flaw in Linux's SCTP network code poses significant risks to system administrators and users alike. The identified vulnerability, CVE-2026-64564, allows local users to gain root access with relative ease, provided the necessary conditions are met.
A critical flaw (CVE-2026-64564) has been identified in the SCTP network code of Linux-based systems, rated highly by the CVSS v4.0 scoring system. The vulnerability allows an attacker to gain root access with relative ease on affected systems. A mix-up over identity within kernel handling of delete requests is the root cause of the flaw. Local users can exploit this vulnerability to gain root access, but it requires SCTP reachable on the target system. System administrators are advised to update their systems with the latest available stable kernels that have already shipped a patch for this vulnerability.
The latest threat to the stability of Linux-based systems has been uncovered, and it comes in the form of a critical flaw in the SCTP (Stream Control Transmission Protocol) network code. This vulnerability, identified as CVE-2026-64564, is rated highly by the CVSS v4.0 scoring system, indicating that an attacker could potentially gain root access to an affected system with relative ease.
The Linux SCTP protocol is a transport layer protocol designed to enable multiple connections over a single network path, allowing for efficient and reliable communication between devices. Dynamic address reconfiguration is another key feature of the protocol, which enables peers to add or drop addresses mid-connection. However, this complex functionality also introduced potential vulnerabilities in the system.
According to research conducted by Tencent Zhuque Lab, the flaw was discovered after extensive testing on various Linux distributions, including Debian 13, Ubuntu 24.04, Rocky Linux 9, RHEL 9, and OpenCloudOS. In their findings, Tencent researchers demonstrated that it is possible for local users to gain root access on these systems by exploiting this vulnerability.
The root cause of the flaw lies in a mix-up over identity within the kernel's handling of delete requests. When the kernel checks a delete request against the packet's source address, but acts upon a different address inside the message, it results in an unintended deletion of the connection path and reuse of the dead pointer, leaving the connection pointing at memory that has already been released.
Tencent credits the initial discovery of this flaw to Corvus AI, a multi-agent research pipeline developed for kernel work. It is worth noting that since the discovery, researchers have also identified another use-after-free bug in the same code which was patched on August 6, after the release of stable kernels 7.1.6, 6.18.42, 6.12.101 and 6.6.148.
While this flaw is considered to be local, as it requires SCTP reachable on the target system, it still poses a significant risk if the necessary conditions are met. To mitigate this risk, system administrators are advised to update their systems with the latest available stable kernels that have already shipped a patch for this vulnerability.
In conclusion, the discovery of this critical Linux SCTP flaw highlights the importance of keeping up-to-date with the latest security patches and updates for operating systems. As in any case where a new vulnerability is discovered, it is crucial to address it promptly and effectively to prevent potential attacks and protect system integrity.
Related Information:
https://www.ethicalhackingnews.com/articles/A-Critical-Flaw-in-Linuxs-SCTP-Network-Code-A-Potential-Nightmare-for-System-Administrators-ehn.shtml
https://thehackernews.com/2026/08/18-year-old-linux-sctp-flaw-could-let.html
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64564
https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2026-64564/
Published: Fri Aug 7 08:18:40 2026 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
