CVE-2026-98493

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ipconfig: bound DHCP option construction ic_dhcp_init_options() appends the hostname (option 12), vendor-class (option 60) and client-ID (option 61) options into the fixed 312-byte bootp_pkt.exten[] buffer. Only the client-ID branch checked the remaining space; the hostname and vendor-class writes were unbounded. A 64-byte hostname together with the maximum 252-byte dhcpclass= identifier needs 18 + (2 + 64) + (2 + 252) = 338 of the 312 available bytes even before the terminating END marker, so the vendor-class memcpy runs past the end of exten[]. With CONFIG_FORTIFY_SOURCE this is reported as a field-spanning write and, when the kernel is booted with panic_on_warn=1, aborts boot with a panic. Route the optional options through a common helper that makes sure the option, its 2-byte header and the END marker all fit and drops an option that would not. Configurations with short options keep sending exactly the same bytes as before.

At a glance

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.

Timeline

1. 2026-10-18 16:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-30 13:21 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: not scored yet.
• Fix: none linked yet, which raises it.

Details

Published

2026-10-18 16:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-30 13:21 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Received

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