From: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>
To: kuba@kernel.org
Cc: edumazet@google.com, dsahern@kernel.org, tom@herbertland.com,
willemdebruijn.kernel@gmail.com, idosch@nvidia.com,
justin.iurman@gmail.com, pabeni@redhat.com,
netdev@vger.kernel.org
Subject: [PATCH net v3] ipv6: Implement limits on extension header parsing
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2026 12:13:18 +0200 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <20260427101318.750730-1-daniel@iogearbox.net> (raw)
ipv6_{skip_exthdr,find_hdr}() and ip6_{tnl_parse_tlv_enc_lim,
protocol_deliver_rcu}() iterate over IPv6 extension headers until they
find a non-extension-header protocol or run out of packet data. The
loops have no iteration counter, relying solely on the packet length
to bound them. For a crafted packet with 8-byte extension headers
filling a 64KB jumbogram, this means a worst case of up to ~8k
iterations with a skb_header_pointer call each. ipv6_skip_exthdr(),
for example, is used where it parses the inner quoted packet inside
an incoming ICMPv6 error:
- icmpv6_rcv
- checksum validation
- case ICMPV6_DEST_UNREACH
- icmpv6_notify
- pskb_may_pull() <- pull inner IPv6 header
- ipv6_skip_exthdr() <- iterates here
- pskb_may_pull()
- ipprot->err_handler() <- sk lookup
The per-iteration cost of ipv6_skip_exthdr itself is generally
light, but skb_header_pointer becomes more costly on reassembled
packets: the first ~1232 bytes of the inner packet are in the skb's
linear area, but the remaining ~63KB are in the frag_list where
skb_copy_bits is needed to read data.
Add a configurable limit via a new sysctl net.ipv6.max_ext_hdrs_number
(default 8, minimum 1). All four extension header walking functions
are bound by this limit. The sysctl is in line with commit 47d3d7ac656a
("ipv6: Implement limits on Hop-by-Hop and Destination options").
As documented, init_net is used to derive max_ext_hdrs_number to
be consistent given a net cannot always reliably be retrieved.
Note that the check in ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu() happens right
before the goto resubmit, such that we don't have to have a test
for ipv6_ext_hdr() in the fast-path.
There's an ongoing IETF draft-iurman-6man-eh-occurrences to enforce
IPv6 extension headers ordering and occurrence. The latter also
discusses security implications. As per RFC8200 section 4.1, the
occurrence rules for extension headers provide a practical upper
bound, thus 8 was used as the default.
Signed-off-by: Daniel Borkmann <daniel@iogearbox.net>
---
v2->v3:
- Adding IP6SKB_HOPBYHOP coverage (Justin)
- I left the limit at 8 w/ sysctl, still feels the better
option to me if we can keep the worst-case more tightened
v1->v2:
- Set the default to 8 (Justin)
- Update IETF references (Justin)
- Add core path coverage as well (Justin)
Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst | 7 +++++++
include/net/dropreason-core.h | 6 ++++++
include/net/ipv6.h | 2 ++
include/net/netns/ipv6.h | 1 +
net/ipv6/af_inet6.c | 1 +
net/ipv6/exthdrs_core.c | 11 +++++++++++
net/ipv6/ip6_input.c | 6 ++++++
net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c | 5 +++++
net/ipv6/sysctl_net_ipv6.c | 8 ++++++++
9 files changed, 47 insertions(+)
diff --git a/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst b/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst
index 2e3a746fcc6d..f7412f4049d1 100644
--- a/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst
+++ b/Documentation/networking/ip-sysctl.rst
@@ -2537,6 +2537,13 @@ max_hbh_length - INTEGER
Default: INT_MAX (unlimited)
+max_ext_hdrs_number - INTEGER
+ Maximum number of IPv6 extension headers allowed in a packet.
+ Limits how many extension headers will be traversed. The value
+ is read from the initial netns.
+
+ Default: 8
+
skip_notify_on_dev_down - BOOLEAN
Controls whether an RTM_DELROUTE message is generated for routes
removed when a device is taken down or deleted. IPv4 does not
diff --git a/include/net/dropreason-core.h b/include/net/dropreason-core.h
index e0ca3904ff8e..1fd91e59b84e 100644
--- a/include/net/dropreason-core.h
+++ b/include/net/dropreason-core.h
@@ -99,6 +99,7 @@
FN(FRAG_TOO_FAR) \
FN(TCP_MINTTL) \
FN(IPV6_BAD_EXTHDR) \
+ FN(IPV6_TOO_MANY_EXTHDRS) \
FN(IPV6_NDISC_FRAG) \
FN(IPV6_NDISC_HOP_LIMIT) \
FN(IPV6_NDISC_BAD_CODE) \
@@ -494,6 +495,11 @@ enum skb_drop_reason {
SKB_DROP_REASON_TCP_MINTTL,
/** @SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_BAD_EXTHDR: Bad IPv6 extension header. */
SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_BAD_EXTHDR,
+ /**
+ * @SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_TOO_MANY_EXTHDRS: Number of IPv6 extension
+ * headers in the packet exceeds net.ipv6.max_ext_hdrs_number.
+ */
+ SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_TOO_MANY_EXTHDRS,
/** @SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_NDISC_FRAG: invalid frag (suppress_frag_ndisc). */
SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_NDISC_FRAG,
/** @SKB_DROP_REASON_IPV6_NDISC_HOP_LIMIT: invalid hop limit. */
diff --git a/include/net/ipv6.h b/include/net/ipv6.h
index d042afe7a245..c540b750726e 100644
--- a/include/net/ipv6.h
+++ b/include/net/ipv6.h
@@ -90,6 +90,8 @@ struct ip_tunnel_info;
#define IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_DST_OPTS_LEN INT_MAX /* No limit */
#define IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_HBH_OPTS_LEN INT_MAX /* No limit */
+#define IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_EXT_HDRS_CNT 8
+
/*
* Addr type
*
diff --git a/include/net/netns/ipv6.h b/include/net/netns/ipv6.h
index 499e4288170f..2cea457bddb4 100644
--- a/include/net/netns/ipv6.h
+++ b/include/net/netns/ipv6.h
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ struct netns_sysctl_ipv6 {
int max_hbh_opts_cnt;
int max_dst_opts_len;
int max_hbh_opts_len;
+ int max_ext_hdrs_cnt;
int seg6_flowlabel;
u32 ioam6_id;
u64 ioam6_id_wide;
diff --git a/net/ipv6/af_inet6.c b/net/ipv6/af_inet6.c
index 0a88b376141d..19424c3f2dfc 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/af_inet6.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/af_inet6.c
@@ -945,6 +945,7 @@ static int __net_init inet6_net_init(struct net *net)
net->ipv6.sysctl.flowlabel_state_ranges = 0;
net->ipv6.sysctl.max_dst_opts_cnt = IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_DST_OPTS_CNT;
net->ipv6.sysctl.max_hbh_opts_cnt = IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_HBH_OPTS_CNT;
+ net->ipv6.sysctl.max_ext_hdrs_cnt = IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_EXT_HDRS_CNT;
net->ipv6.sysctl.max_dst_opts_len = IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_DST_OPTS_LEN;
net->ipv6.sysctl.max_hbh_opts_len = IP6_DEFAULT_MAX_HBH_OPTS_LEN;
net->ipv6.sysctl.fib_notify_on_flag_change = 0;
diff --git a/net/ipv6/exthdrs_core.c b/net/ipv6/exthdrs_core.c
index 49e31e4ae7b7..9df892e7f7fb 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/exthdrs_core.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/exthdrs_core.c
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
* not configured or static.
*/
#include <linux/export.h>
+
+#include <net/net_namespace.h>
#include <net/ipv6.h>
/*
@@ -72,7 +74,9 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL(ipv6_ext_hdr);
int ipv6_skip_exthdr(const struct sk_buff *skb, int start, u8 *nexthdrp,
__be16 *frag_offp)
{
+ int exthdr_max = READ_ONCE(init_net.ipv6.sysctl.max_ext_hdrs_cnt);
u8 nexthdr = *nexthdrp;
+ int exthdr_cnt = 0;
*frag_offp = 0;
@@ -82,6 +86,8 @@ int ipv6_skip_exthdr(const struct sk_buff *skb, int start, u8 *nexthdrp,
if (nexthdr == NEXTHDR_NONE)
return -1;
+ if (unlikely(exthdr_cnt++ >= exthdr_max))
+ return -1;
hp = skb_header_pointer(skb, start, sizeof(_hdr), &_hdr);
if (!hp)
return -1;
@@ -188,8 +194,10 @@ EXPORT_SYMBOL_GPL(ipv6_find_tlv);
int ipv6_find_hdr(const struct sk_buff *skb, unsigned int *offset,
int target, unsigned short *fragoff, int *flags)
{
+ int exthdr_max = READ_ONCE(init_net.ipv6.sysctl.max_ext_hdrs_cnt);
unsigned int start = skb_network_offset(skb) + sizeof(struct ipv6hdr);
u8 nexthdr = ipv6_hdr(skb)->nexthdr;
+ int exthdr_cnt = 0;
bool found;
if (fragoff)
@@ -216,6 +224,9 @@ int ipv6_find_hdr(const struct sk_buff *skb, unsigned int *offset,
return -ENOENT;
}
+ if (unlikely(exthdr_cnt++ >= exthdr_max))
+ return -EBADMSG;
+
hp = skb_header_pointer(skb, start, sizeof(_hdr), &_hdr);
if (!hp)
return -EBADMSG;
diff --git a/net/ipv6/ip6_input.c b/net/ipv6/ip6_input.c
index 967b07aeb683..79fa33573e53 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/ip6_input.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/ip6_input.c
@@ -403,6 +403,8 @@ INDIRECT_CALLABLE_DECLARE(int tcp_v6_rcv(struct sk_buff *));
void ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu(struct net *net, struct sk_buff *skb, int nexthdr,
bool have_final)
{
+ int exthdr_max = READ_ONCE(init_net.ipv6.sysctl.max_ext_hdrs_cnt);
+ int exthdr_cnt = IP6CB(skb)->flags & IP6SKB_HOPBYHOP ? 1 : 0;
const struct inet6_protocol *ipprot;
struct inet6_dev *idev;
unsigned int nhoff;
@@ -487,6 +489,10 @@ void ip6_protocol_deliver_rcu(struct net *net, struct sk_buff *skb, int nexthdr,
nexthdr = ret;
goto resubmit_final;
} else {
+ if (unlikely(exthdr_cnt++ >= exthdr_max)) {
+ SKB_DR_SET(reason, IPV6_TOO_MANY_EXTHDRS);
+ goto discard;
+ }
goto resubmit;
}
} else if (ret == 0) {
diff --git a/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c b/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c
index c468c83af0f2..4546a60942ab 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/ip6_tunnel.c
@@ -395,15 +395,20 @@ ip6_tnl_dev_uninit(struct net_device *dev)
__u16 ip6_tnl_parse_tlv_enc_lim(struct sk_buff *skb, __u8 *raw)
{
+ int exthdr_max = READ_ONCE(init_net.ipv6.sysctl.max_ext_hdrs_cnt);
const struct ipv6hdr *ipv6h = (const struct ipv6hdr *)raw;
unsigned int nhoff = raw - skb->data;
unsigned int off = nhoff + sizeof(*ipv6h);
u8 nexthdr = ipv6h->nexthdr;
+ int exthdr_cnt = 0;
while (ipv6_ext_hdr(nexthdr) && nexthdr != NEXTHDR_NONE) {
struct ipv6_opt_hdr *hdr;
u16 optlen;
+ if (unlikely(exthdr_cnt++ >= exthdr_max))
+ break;
+
if (!pskb_may_pull(skb, off + sizeof(*hdr)))
break;
diff --git a/net/ipv6/sysctl_net_ipv6.c b/net/ipv6/sysctl_net_ipv6.c
index d2cd33e2698d..93f865545a7c 100644
--- a/net/ipv6/sysctl_net_ipv6.c
+++ b/net/ipv6/sysctl_net_ipv6.c
@@ -135,6 +135,14 @@ static struct ctl_table ipv6_table_template[] = {
.extra1 = SYSCTL_ZERO,
.extra2 = &flowlabel_reflect_max,
},
+ {
+ .procname = "max_ext_hdrs_number",
+ .data = &init_net.ipv6.sysctl.max_ext_hdrs_cnt,
+ .maxlen = sizeof(int),
+ .mode = 0644,
+ .proc_handler = proc_dointvec_minmax,
+ .extra1 = SYSCTL_ONE,
+ },
{
.procname = "max_dst_opts_number",
.data = &init_net.ipv6.sysctl.max_dst_opts_cnt,
--
2.43.0
next reply other threads:[~2026-04-27 10:13 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 5+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2026-04-27 10:13 Daniel Borkmann [this message]
2026-04-27 13:14 ` [PATCH net v3] ipv6: Implement limits on extension header parsing David Laight
2026-04-27 13:30 ` Daniel Borkmann
2026-04-27 20:14 ` Victor Nogueira
2026-04-28 6:02 ` kernel test robot
Reply instructions:
You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:
* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
and reply-to-all from there: mbox
Avoid top-posting and favor interleaved quoting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posting_style#Interleaved_style
* Reply using the --to, --cc, and --in-reply-to
switches of git-send-email(1):
git send-email \
--in-reply-to=20260427101318.750730-1-daniel@iogearbox.net \
--to=daniel@iogearbox.net \
--cc=dsahern@kernel.org \
--cc=edumazet@google.com \
--cc=idosch@nvidia.com \
--cc=justin.iurman@gmail.com \
--cc=kuba@kernel.org \
--cc=netdev@vger.kernel.org \
--cc=pabeni@redhat.com \
--cc=tom@herbertland.com \
--cc=willemdebruijn.kernel@gmail.com \
/path/to/YOUR_REPLY
https://kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/git-send-email.html
* If your mail client supports setting the In-Reply-To header
via mailto: links, try the mailto: link
Be sure your reply has a Subject: header at the top and a blank line
before the message body.
This is an external index of several public inboxes,
see mirroring instructions on how to clone and mirror
all data and code used by this external index.