CVE-2026-64531: net: openvswitch: reject oversized nested action attrs
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: openvswitch: reject oversized nested action attrs
Open vSwitch stores generated flow actions as nlattrs, whose nlalen field is u16. Commit a1e64addf3ff ("net: openvswitch: remove misbehaving actions length check") allowed the total swflowactions stream to grow beyond 64 KiB, which is valid, but also removed the last guard preventing a generated nested action attribute from exceeding U16MAX.
An oversized generated container can thus be closed with a truncated nlalen. A later dump or teardown then walks a structurally different stream than the one that was validated. In particular, an oversized nested CLONE/CT action may cause subsequent bytes in the generated stream to be interpreted as independent actions.
Keep the larger total-action-stream behavior, but make nested action close reject generated containers that do not fit in nlalen, and return the error through all callers. For recursive SAMPLE, CLONE, DECTTL, and CHECKPKTLEN builders, trim resource-owning action-list tails in reverse construction order before discarding failed wrappers, so resources copied into the rejected tails are released before the wrappers are removed.
Most failed outer wrappers are discarded by truncating actionslen after child resources have been released. CHECKPKTLEN also trims its parent after branch resources are gone. SET/TUNNEL close failures unwind their known tundst ownership directly, and SETTOMASKED has no external ownership and truncates on close failure.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
Linux kernel/OVS (Open vSwitch)to a version that resolves this vulnerability.Patch a1e64addf3ff - Upgrade
Upgrade
net: openvswitch: reject oversized nested action attrsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Patch CVE-2026-64531
Event History
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the severity of CVE-2026-64531?
CVE-2026-64531 has been assigned a risk score of 57.
How do I fix CVE-2026-64531?
To fix CVE-2026-64531, update your Linux kernel to the latest stable version that includes the security patch.
What components are affected by CVE-2026-64531?
CVE-2026-64531 affects the Open vSwitch component within the Linux kernel.
What type of vulnerability is CVE-2026-64531?
CVE-2026-64531 is a vulnerability related to oversized nested action attributes in Open vSwitch.
When was CVE-2026-64531 published?
CVE-2026-64531 was published on July 27, 2026.