CVE-2026-72413

Technical Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

sctp: fix err_chunk memory leaks in INIT handling

When sctp_verify_init() encounters unrecognized parameters, it allocates an

err_chunk to report them. However, this chunk is leaked in several code

paths:

1. In sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init(), if security_sctp_assoc_request() fails after

sctp_verify_init() has populated err_chunk, the function returns

immediately without freeing it.

2. In sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(), the same leak occurs on the

security_sctp_assoc_request() failure path.

3. In sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init(), on the success path after copying

unrecognized parameters to the INIT-ACK, the function returns without

freeing err_chunk, unlike sctp_sf_do_5_1B_init() which properly frees

it.

Fix all three leaks by adding sctp_chunk_free(err_chunk) calls before

returning in the error paths and on the success path in

sctp_sf_do_unexpected_init().

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

References