CVE-2026-118593: Kernel: local_bh imbalance in seg6_input_core() drop path (incomplete fix for cve-2026-46099)
A flaw was found in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 kernel builds. An incomplete backport of the CVE-2026-46099 fix in RHEL 9.6 through 9.10 left a localbh imbalance in seg6inputcore(), where the drop path returns with bottom halves still disabled. This can lead to softirq starvation and denial of service on systems with SRv6 tunnels configured. Upstream and RHEL 10 are not affected.
Other sources
An incomplete backport sequence in RHEL 9 y/z-streams left a localbh imbalance in net/ipv6/seg6iptunnel.c :: seg6inputcore().
Upstream commit c0b98ac1cc10 ("ipv6: sr: block BH in seg6outputcore() and seg6inputcore()") replaced short preemptdisable() sections with a localbhdisable() that stays held across the cache miss / route-input path until a matching localbhenable() later in the function.
Upstream later landed 40475b63761a ("net: ipv6: seg6iptunnel: mitigate 2-realloc issue"), which narrows BH disable to the dstcache calls so error paths (including goto drop) are not responsible for re-enabling BH.
The CVE-2026-46099 fix (upstream f9c52a6ba978, "net: ipv6: fix NOREF dst use in seg6 and rpl lwtunnels") adds a NULL dst check after ip6routeinput() + skbdstforce() that jumps to the drop label on failure. On current upstream and RHEL 10 this is safe because BH is already re-enabled at that point. On RHEL 9.6 through 9.10, the trees have c0b98ac1cc10 and the CVE-2026-46099 hunk but not 40475b63761a, so the new goto drop skips localbhenable() and returns with bottom halves still disabled.
This can lead to softirq starvation, lockdep splats, and potential system hangs on systems with SRv6 (Segment Routing v6) configured.
The fix is to backport 40475b63761a or otherwise ensure every path to the drop label runs with BH enabled.
— Red Hat
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade to a fixed release to a version that resolves this vulnerability.
Patch 40475b63761a