ARP Payload Parsing Issue in Linux Kernel Affecting IEEE1394 Devices

CVE-2026-45844

What is CVE-2026-45844?

A vulnerability has been identified in the Linux kernel related to ARP payload parsing for IEEE1394 devices. The function arp_packet_match() incorrectly assumes that both source and target hardware addresses are present, leading to potential misinterpretations of ARP packets. This issue may result in incorrect packet filtering decisions—legitimate packets could be denied or undesired packets could be inadvertently accepted. To address this, patches have been applied to ensure that any attempt to match on the non-existent target hardware address in IEEE1394 results in a definitive no match (0), effectively improving the integrity of packet mangling and filtering processes in network operations.

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