Critical severity · published Sep 17, 2026
CVE-2026-90110
inetpeer: randomize RB-tree node comparison using SipHash
9.4
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
inetpeer: randomize RB-tree node comparison using SipHash
The inetpeer rate limiting system stores peer entries in a Red-Black tree
keyed deterministically on the remote IP address. Because tree lookups walk
the RB-tree using standard lexicographical comparisons (inetpeer_addr_cmp),
an off-path adversary can predict the exact topology of the tree and the
sequence of nodes traversed during lookups (the gc_stack candidate list).
By combining deterministic tree traversal with aggressive garbage collection
(triggered when tree size exceeds inet_peer_threshold), an attacker can
selectively force the eviction of targeted inet_peer nodes. When an evicted
node is subsequently re-created upon receiving a new packet, its rate-limiting
token bucket (rate_tokens, rate_last) is reset to full capacity. This creates
a side-channel primitive allowing off-path attackers to bypass IP-keyed ICMP
rate limits and infer open UDP ports (similar to SAD DNS style attacks).
Mitigate this by randomizing the RB-tree node comparison logic using SipHash
with a secret key (inetpeer_hash_key) initialized via net_get_random_once().
Nodes are ordered in the tree by SipHash(addr, key) rather than raw IP
addresses. Because the secret key is unknown to external entities, the tree
layout and lookup traversal paths are unpredictable to off-path adversaries,
breaking the deterministic eviction gadget.
Cache the computed 64-bit SipHash (hash) in struct inet_peer and compute the
target hash (dhash) once at the beginning of inet_getpeer() to avoid recomputing
SipHash at every step of the RB-tree walk.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:L
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 49% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
LI
Linux · Linux
b145425f269a17ed344d737f746b844dfac60c82 before b20e98f0bb668a59abaf7bcf85d75c073e90d352; b145425f269a17ed344d737f746b844dfac60c82 before 5f127e3cc9647a8a70db12c65dbd0de473545380; b145425f269a17ed344d737f746b844dfac60c82 before 199fcf285e498111e029137d088949bc6c26d578; b145425f269a17ed344d737f746b844dfac60c82 before 857681f6835d5b0a7bc4a34a026baeaaf5215623; b145425f269a17ed344d737f746b844dfac60c82 before 7109bb63667a53e4542ad845476f97d0c8b28a61; b145425f269a17ed344d737f746b844dfac60c82 before 2ee66e9487172fcd189bc52a767c30dad7141c09; +1 more · source: vendor
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90110
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90110
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/199fcf285e498111e029137d088949bc6c26d578
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ee66e9487172fcd189bc52a767c30dad7141c09
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5f127e3cc9647a8a70db12c65dbd0de473545380
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7109bb63667a53e4542ad845476f97d0c8b28a61
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/857681f6835d5b0a7bc4a34a026baeaaf5215623
git.kernel.org
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b20e98f0bb668a59abaf7bcf85d75c073e90d352
More from Linux
9.8
CVE-2025-39682
tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list
8.8
CVE-2026-53266
netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable
7.8
CVE-2026-53362
ipv6: account for fraggap on the paged allocation path
7.8
CVE-2026-46300
net: skbuff: preserve shared-frag marker during coalescing
7.8
CVE-2026-31431
crypto: algif_aead - Revert to operating out-of-place
