# CVE-2026-97974: ipv6: null-check fib6_node before accessing in __ip6_del_rt_siblings()

CVE-2026-97974 is fixed in 20 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97974, released October 2, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

- Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97974
- Priority: High
- CVSS: n/a (important)
- EPSS: 0.0017
- CISA KEV: not listed
- Exploited (vendor report): no
- Publicly disclosed: no
- Published: Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97974

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:  ipv6: null-check fib6_node before accessing in __ip6_del_rt_siblings()  syzbot reported a null-ptr-deref in __ip6_del_rt_siblings() [0].  The stack trace hinted towards a null dereference of rt->fib6_node when fn->leaf is accessed in __ip6_del_rt_siblings(). With RTNL_FLAG_DOIT_UNLOCKED set, inet6_rtm_delroute() operations run concurrently without acquiring the RTNL lock. In ip6_route_del(), the route lookup happens under rcu_read_lock() without acquiring table->tb6_lock.  Between ip6_route_del() looking up the route and __ip6_del_rt_siblings() acquiring table->tb6_lock, another thread can modify the routing table. For example, when an ECMP route is replaced via RTM_NEWROUTE with NLM_F_REPLACE, fib6_add_rt2node() unlinks all old siblings and sets iter->fib6_node = NULL. A reproducer was found that triggers this [1].  Add a check to ensure rt->fib6_node is non-null before accessing it.  [0] KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000020-0x0000000000000027] RIP: 0010:__ip6_del_rt_siblings+0x31e/0x7c0 net/ipv6/route.c:4056 Call Trace:  <TASK>  ip6_route_del+0x1054/0x1110 net/ipv6/route.c:4232  inet6_rtm_delroute+0x5d7/0x6d0 net/ipv6/route.c:5669  rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x802/0xc00 net/core/rtnetlink.c:7132  netlink_rcv_skb+0x226/0x4a0 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2556  netlink_unicast_kernel net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1319 [inline]  netlink_unicast+0x7f5/0x990 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1345  netlink_sendmsg+0x813/0xb40 net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1900  sock_sendmsg_nosec+0x13a/0x180 net/socket.c:800  __sock_sendmsg net/socket.c:815 [inline]  ____sys_sendmsg+0x565/0x870 net/socket.c:2713  ___sys_sendmsg+0x2a5/0x360 net/socket.c:2767  __sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2799 [inline]  __do_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2804 [inline]  __se_sys_sendmsg net/socket.c:2802 [inline]  __x64_sys_sendmsg+0x1b7/0x290 net/socket.c:2802  do_syscall_x64 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:61 [inline]  do_syscall_64+0x166/0x520 arch/x86/entry/syscall_64.c:84  entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x77/0x7f  </TASK>  [1] https://gist.github.com/NamanGulati/0766a1159b6ca61928faaf87425ff899

## Where it's fixed

| Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | bpftool6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | bpftool6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel-livepatch-6.18.54-121.166 amzn 2023 | 1:1.0-0.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-aarch64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-debuginfo-common-x86_64 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-headers amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-modules-extra-common amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-tools amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-tools-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | kernel6.18-tools-devel amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.7-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97974](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97974.md) | Oct 2, 2026 |
| Linux | microvm-kernel6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | python3-perf6.18 amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |
| Linux | python3-perf6.18-debuginfo amzn 2023 | 1:6.18.54-121.166.amzn2023 | [ALAS2023-2026-3192](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/alas2023-2026-3192.md) | Nov 7, 2026 |

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Data as of 2026-11-09T01:18:40Z UTC. Source: Patchblox Patch Radar (https://patchblox.com/security/patch-radar). Patchblox finds out-of-date software on Windows, macOS and Linux and updates it through release rings: https://patchblox.com/demo

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