Kernel-level privilege escalation in the Linux networking stack affects widely deployed Linux systems and can impact many organizations if unpatched.
CVE-2026-72053
Linux kernel ipip: local privilege escalation via netns changelink
Is CVE-2026-72053 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-72053 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.16% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-72053?
CVE-2026-72053 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-72053?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-72053. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-72053 affect?
CVE-2026-72053 affects Linux kernel (ipip/net namespace handling). Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-72053?
Install vendor kernel updates, restrict CAP_NET_ADMIN, audit ipip tunnels and netns
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local user with CAP_NET_ADMIN in one netns can modify an IPIP tunnel in another netns, enabling privilege escalation and traffic manipulation.
Patch when possible
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < a7d2642a50282322bc33f34ee7305f2b793df494
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < 068ad9b85f681755f751ebab82ae98146cec163d
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < 91571643e554ae89a91942380d5f5361fb7060a2
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < 983cc4aa7e6f633b34c3ee743771252d7afa9a90
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < 26544021d5c49cc6ae8a968ccb5033e6363854a4
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < 68cadc3698c7de88966d306d12ec9c6217da228a
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < d49edcc65e0a37cc9b386a94415c5d6670ca8b71
- affected>= 6c742e714d8c282fd8f8b22d3e20b5141738c1ee and < 8211a26324667980a463c069469a818e71207e02
- affected3.12
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.