In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
slip: reject VJ receive packets on instances with no rstate array
slhc_init() accepts rslots == 0 as a valid configuration, with the
documented meaning of 'no receive compression'. In that case the
allocation loop in slhc_init() is skipped, so comp->rstate stays
NULL and comp->rslot_limit stays 0 (from the kzalloc of struct
slcompress).
The receive helpers do not defend against that configuration.
slhc_uncompress() dereferences comp->rstate[x] when the VJ header
carries an explicit connection ID, and slhc_remember() later assigns
cs = &comp->rstate[...] after only comparing the packet's slot number
to comp->rslot_limit. Because rslot_limit is 0, slot 0 passes the
range check, and the code dereferences a NULL rstate.
The configuration is reachable in-tree through PPP. PPPIOCSMAXCID
stores its argument in a signed int, and (val >> 16) uses arithmetic
shift. Passing 0xffff0000 therefore sign-extends to -1, so val2 + 1
is 0 and ppp_generic.c ends up calling slhc_init(0, 1). Because
/dev/ppp open is gated by ns_capable(CAP_NET_ADMIN), the whole path
is reachable from an unprivileged user namespace. Once the malformed
VJ state is installed, any inbound VJ-compressed or VJ-uncompressed
frame that selects slot 0 crashes the kernel in softirq context:
Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical
address 0xdffffc0000000000: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007]
RIP: 0010:slhc_uncompress (drivers/net/slip/slhc.c:519)
Call Trace:
<TASK>
ppp_receive_nonmp_frame (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2466)
ppp_input (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2359)
ppp_async_process (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_async.c:492)
tasklet_action_common (kernel/softirq.c:926)
handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:623)
run_ksoftirqd (kernel/softirq.c:1055)
smpboot_thread_fn (kernel/smpboot.c:160)
kthread (kernel/kthread.c:436)
ret_from_fork (arch/x86/kernel/process.c:164)
</TASK>
Reject the receive side on such instances instead of touching rstate.
slhc_uncompress() falls through to its existing 'bad' label, which
bumps sls_i_error and enters the toss state. slhc_remember() mirrors
that with an explicit sls_i_error increment followed by slhc_toss();
the sls_i_runt counter is not used here because a missing rstate is
an internal configuration state, not a runt packet.
The transmit path is unaffected: the only in-tree caller that picks
rslots from userspace (ppp_generic.c) still supplies tslots >= 1, and
slip.c always calls slhc_init(16, 16), so comp->tstate remains valid
and slhc_compress() continues to work.
slip: reject VJ receive packets on instances with no rstate array
slhc_init() accepts rslots == 0 as a valid configuration, with the
documented meaning of 'no receive compression'. In that case the
allocation loop in slhc_init() is skipped, so comp->rstate stays
NULL and comp->rslot_limit stays 0 (from the kzalloc of struct
slcompress).
The receive helpers do not defend against that configuration.
slhc_uncompress() dereferences comp->rstate[x] when the VJ header
carries an explicit connection ID, and slhc_remember() later assigns
cs = &comp->rstate[...] after only comparing the packet's slot number
to comp->rslot_limit. Because rslot_limit is 0, slot 0 passes the
range check, and the code dereferences a NULL rstate.
The configuration is reachable in-tree through PPP. PPPIOCSMAXCID
stores its argument in a signed int, and (val >> 16) uses arithmetic
shift. Passing 0xffff0000 therefore sign-extends to -1, so val2 + 1
is 0 and ppp_generic.c ends up calling slhc_init(0, 1). Because
/dev/ppp open is gated by ns_capable(CAP_NET_ADMIN), the whole path
is reachable from an unprivileged user namespace. Once the malformed
VJ state is installed, any inbound VJ-compressed or VJ-uncompressed
frame that selects slot 0 crashes the kernel in softirq context:
Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical
address 0xdffffc0000000000: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI
KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007]
RIP: 0010:slhc_uncompress (drivers/net/slip/slhc.c:519)
Call Trace:
<TASK>
ppp_receive_nonmp_frame (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2466)
ppp_input (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2359)
ppp_async_process (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_async.c:492)
tasklet_action_common (kernel/softirq.c:926)
handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:623)
run_ksoftirqd (kernel/softirq.c:1055)
smpboot_thread_fn (kernel/smpboot.c:160)
kthread (kernel/kthread.c:436)
ret_from_fork (arch/x86/kernel/process.c:164)
</TASK>
Reject the receive side on such instances instead of touching rstate.
slhc_uncompress() falls through to its existing 'bad' label, which
bumps sls_i_error and enters the toss state. slhc_remember() mirrors
that with an explicit sls_i_error increment followed by slhc_toss();
the sls_i_runt counter is not used here because a missing rstate is
an internal configuration state, not a runt packet.
The transmit path is unaffected: the only in-tree caller that picks
rslots from userspace (ppp_generic.c) still supplies tslots >= 1, and
slip.c always calls slhc_init(16, 16), so comp->tstate remains valid
and slhc_compress() continues to work.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data.
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Wed, 27 May 2026 10:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: slip: reject VJ receive packets on instances with no rstate array slhc_init() accepts rslots == 0 as a valid configuration, with the documented meaning of 'no receive compression'. In that case the allocation loop in slhc_init() is skipped, so comp->rstate stays NULL and comp->rslot_limit stays 0 (from the kzalloc of struct slcompress). The receive helpers do not defend against that configuration. slhc_uncompress() dereferences comp->rstate[x] when the VJ header carries an explicit connection ID, and slhc_remember() later assigns cs = &comp->rstate[...] after only comparing the packet's slot number to comp->rslot_limit. Because rslot_limit is 0, slot 0 passes the range check, and the code dereferences a NULL rstate. The configuration is reachable in-tree through PPP. PPPIOCSMAXCID stores its argument in a signed int, and (val >> 16) uses arithmetic shift. Passing 0xffff0000 therefore sign-extends to -1, so val2 + 1 is 0 and ppp_generic.c ends up calling slhc_init(0, 1). Because /dev/ppp open is gated by ns_capable(CAP_NET_ADMIN), the whole path is reachable from an unprivileged user namespace. Once the malformed VJ state is installed, any inbound VJ-compressed or VJ-uncompressed frame that selects slot 0 crashes the kernel in softirq context: Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address 0xdffffc0000000000: 0000 [#1] SMP KASAN NOPTI KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000000-0x0000000000000007] RIP: 0010:slhc_uncompress (drivers/net/slip/slhc.c:519) Call Trace: <TASK> ppp_receive_nonmp_frame (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2466) ppp_input (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_generic.c:2359) ppp_async_process (drivers/net/ppp/ppp_async.c:492) tasklet_action_common (kernel/softirq.c:926) handle_softirqs (kernel/softirq.c:623) run_ksoftirqd (kernel/softirq.c:1055) smpboot_thread_fn (kernel/smpboot.c:160) kthread (kernel/kthread.c:436) ret_from_fork (arch/x86/kernel/process.c:164) </TASK> Reject the receive side on such instances instead of touching rstate. slhc_uncompress() falls through to its existing 'bad' label, which bumps sls_i_error and enters the toss state. slhc_remember() mirrors that with an explicit sls_i_error increment followed by slhc_toss(); the sls_i_runt counter is not used here because a missing rstate is an internal configuration state, not a runt packet. The transmit path is unaffected: the only in-tree caller that picks rslots from userspace (ppp_generic.c) still supplies tslots >= 1, and slip.c always calls slhc_init(16, 16), so comp->tstate remains valid and slhc_compress() continues to work. | |
| Title | slip: reject VJ receive packets on instances with no rstate array | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
|
Projects
Sign in to view the affected projects.
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-05-27T09:24:42.637Z
Reserved: 2026-05-13T15:03:33.078Z
Link: CVE-2026-45842
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-05-27T11:16:23.600
Modified: 2026-05-27T11:16:23.600
Link: CVE-2026-45842
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.