CVE-2026-43254: ovpn: tcp - fix packet extraction from stream

Published May 6, 2026
·
Updated

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ovpn: tcp - fix packet extraction from stream

When processing TCP stream data in ovpntcprecv, we receive large cloned skbs from strprcv that may contain multiple coalesced packets. The current implementation has two bugs:

1. Header offset overflow: Using pskbpull with large offsets on coalesced skbs causes skb->data - skb->head to exceed the u16 storage of skb->networkheader. This causes skbresetnetworkheader to fail on the inner decapsulated packet, resulting in packet drops.

2. Unaligned protocol headers: Extracting packets from arbitrary positions within the coalesced TCP stream provides no alignment guarantees for the packet data causing performance penalties on architectures without efficient unaligned access. Additionally, openvpn's 2-byte length prefix on TCP packets causes the subsequent 4-byte opcode and packet ID fields to be inherently misaligned.

Fix both issues by allocating a new skb for each openvpn packet and using skbcopybits to extract only the packet content into the new buffer, skipping the 2-byte length prefix. Also, check the length before invoking the function that performs the allocation to avoid creating an invalid skb.

If the packet has to be forwarded to userspace the 2-byte prefix can be pushed to the head safely, without misalignment.

As a side effect, this approach also avoids the expensive linearization that pskbpull triggers on cloned skbs with page fragments. In testing, this resulted in TCP throughput improvements of up to 74%.

Affected Software

4 affected components
Linux Linux kernel (ovpn)
Linux Linux kernel>=6.16<6.18.16
Linux Linux kernel>=6.19<6.19.6
Linux Linux kernel=7.0-rc1

Event History

May 6, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·11:28 AM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·11:28 AM
DescriptionSeverity
Data Sourced
via NVD·12:16 PM
RemedyDescriptionSeverityWeaknessAffected Software

Frequently Asked Questions

1

What is the severity of CVE-2026-43254?

CVE-2026-43254 is classified as a medium-severity vulnerability due to its potential to impact the processing of TCP stream data.

2

How do I fix CVE-2026-43254?

To fix CVE-2026-43254, update your Linux kernel to the latest version that addresses this vulnerability.

3

What are the consequences of not addressing CVE-2026-43254?

Failing to address CVE-2026-43254 may lead to improper handling of TCP streams, resulting in potential data corruption or denial of service.

4

Which versions of the Linux kernel are affected by CVE-2026-43254?

CVE-2026-43254 affects specific versions of the Linux kernel that implement the ovpn TCP functionality.

5

Is there a workaround for CVE-2026-43254?

Currently, there are no recommended workarounds for CVE-2026-43254 outside of applying the appropriate kernel updates.

Contact

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