CVE-2025-71128
- Published: 2026-01-14T15:16:02.547
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
erspan: Initialize options_len before referencing options.
The struct ip_tunnel_info has a flexible array member named
options that is protected by a counted_by(options_len)
attribute.
The compiler will use this information to enforce runtime bounds
checking deployed by FORTIFY_SOURCE string helpers.
As laid out in the GCC documentation, the counter must be
initialized before the first reference to the flexible array
member.
After scanning through the files that use struct ip_tunnel_info
and also refer to options or options_len, it appears the normal
case is to use the ip_tunnel_info_opts_set() helper.
Said helper would initialize options_len properly before copying
data into options, however in the GRE ERSPAN code a partial
update is done, preventing the use of the helper function.
Before this change the handling of ERSPAN traffic in GRE tunnels
would cause a kernel panic when the kernel is compiled with
GCC 15+ and having FORTIFY_SOURCE configured:
memcpy: detected buffer overflow: 4 byte write of buffer size 0
Call Trace:
__fortify_panic+0xd/0xf
erspan_rcv.cold+0x68/0x83
? ip_route_input_slow+0x816/0x9d0
gre_rcv+0x1b2/0x1c0
gre_rcv+0x8e/0x100
? raw_v4_input+0x2a0/0x2b0
ip_protocol_deliver_rcu+0x1ea/0x210
ip_local_deliver_finish+0x86/0x110
ip_local_deliver+0x65/0x110
? ip_rcv_finish_core+0xd6/0x360
ip_rcv+0x186/0x1a0
Reported-at: https://launchpad.net/bugs/2129580
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How to fix CVE-2025-71128
Description: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: erspan: Initialize options_len before referencing options. The struct ip_tunnel_info has a flexible array member named options that is protected by a counted_by(options_len) attribute. The compiler will use this information to enforce runtime bounds checking deployed by FORTIFY_SOURCE string helpers. As laid out in the GCC […]
Exploit Difficulty: HARD
⏱️ Time to exploit: > 4 hours
🛠️ Required skills: Advanced security expertise
💰 Public exploits: Rare or not public
How to Fix:
- Check if you're running the affected product
- Update to the latest patched version
- If patching is not immediately possible: restrict network exposure, apply least-privilege access
- Test the fix in a staging environment first
- Review logs for signs of exploitation
- Monitor for IOCs (Indicators of Compromise)
- Enable automatic security updates
- Set up vulnerability monitoring
- Review and harden security configurations
Vendor Advisory: https://launchpad.net/bugs/2129580
Exploit Difficulty Assessment
Vulnerability Timeline
CVE details first published to NVD database
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