CVE-2026-22988 | arp: do not assume dev_hard_header() does not change skb->head

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arp: do not assume dev_hard_header() does not change skb->head arp_create() is the only dev_hard_header() caller making assumption about skb->head being unchanged. A recent commit broke this assumption. Initialize @arp pointer after dev_hard_header() call.

Published: 2026-01-23 Last update: 2026-04-27 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-22988 is rated Low Risk (33.3/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-22988

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-01-24 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-22988

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
5.5 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-22988

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-22988

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-22988 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-22988
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-22988
suse medium CVE-2026-22988 severity moderate: SUSE including 179 source package names (13.2-9.1:libsqlite3-0-3.49.1-1.1, 2.1.3-6.115:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-39.1.21.16, …), 520 product×package rows across 92 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, … (92 product lines)): Fixed 332, Known Not Affected 163, First Fixed 25. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-22988/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-22988 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1256 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 871, ignored 165, not-affected 137, released 83. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-22988

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-22988

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.12.64, < 6.12.66 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.18.4, < 6.18.6 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.1.160 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.1.160:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.6.120 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.6.120:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 6.19 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-22988

cvelogic Threat Intelligence