In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tipc: prevent GCM nonce reuse on peer key changes
TIPC can encrypt traffic between nodes using a different transmit key
for each node. In this mode, the AES-GCM nonce for a packet sent to a
known peer consists of a 32-bit prefix (a per-key salt XOR the peer's
address) followed by a 64-bit counter. That counter is stored in the
peer's RX crypto object. When the peer reports a change in which key
it uses to receive packets, TIPC resets this counter. The sender can
still be using the same TX key and salt, so subsequent packets reuse
earlier nonces. This nonce reuse breaks confidentiality and exposes
GCM's authentication key. This makes forgeries trivial: an attacker
can exploit CTR malleability to alter captured ciphertexts and use the
recovered authentication key to compute a valid tag for the modified
ciphertext, under the same key and nonce.
Use the TX key's existing aead->seqno counter instead. All encryptions
using that key object share the same atomic counter, so concurrent
encryptions get distinct nonce counter values. The counter survives
key activation and peer reconnection, and peer key-status reports
cannot reset it. This prevents those transitions from causing nonce
reuse while the same TX key remains installed.
The nonce format is unchanged, and receivers do not require consecutive
counter values, so sharing the counter across peers remains compatible
with existing receivers. A pre-existing check still invokes key
revocation in the unlikely event that the counter wraps to zero.
tipc: prevent GCM nonce reuse on peer key changes
TIPC can encrypt traffic between nodes using a different transmit key
for each node. In this mode, the AES-GCM nonce for a packet sent to a
known peer consists of a 32-bit prefix (a per-key salt XOR the peer's
address) followed by a 64-bit counter. That counter is stored in the
peer's RX crypto object. When the peer reports a change in which key
it uses to receive packets, TIPC resets this counter. The sender can
still be using the same TX key and salt, so subsequent packets reuse
earlier nonces. This nonce reuse breaks confidentiality and exposes
GCM's authentication key. This makes forgeries trivial: an attacker
can exploit CTR malleability to alter captured ciphertexts and use the
recovered authentication key to compute a valid tag for the modified
ciphertext, under the same key and nonce.
Use the TX key's existing aead->seqno counter instead. All encryptions
using that key object share the same atomic counter, so concurrent
encryptions get distinct nonce counter values. The counter survives
key activation and peer reconnection, and peer key-status reports
cannot reset it. This prevents those transitions from causing nonce
reuse while the same TX key remains installed.
The nonce format is unchanged, and receivers do not require consecutive
counter values, so sharing the counter across peers remains compatible
with existing receivers. A pre-existing check still invokes key
revocation in the unlikely event that the counter wraps to zero.
Metrics
Affected Vendors & Products
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tipc: prevent GCM nonce reuse on peer key changes TIPC can encrypt traffic between nodes using a different transmit key for each node. In this mode, the AES-GCM nonce for a packet sent to a known peer consists of a 32-bit prefix (a per-key salt XOR the peer's address) followed by a 64-bit counter. That counter is stored in the peer's RX crypto object. When the peer reports a change in which key it uses to receive packets, TIPC resets this counter. The sender can still be using the same TX key and salt, so subsequent packets reuse earlier nonces. This nonce reuse breaks confidentiality and exposes GCM's authentication key. This makes forgeries trivial: an attacker can exploit CTR malleability to alter captured ciphertexts and use the recovered authentication key to compute a valid tag for the modified ciphertext, under the same key and nonce. Use the TX key's existing aead->seqno counter instead. All encryptions using that key object share the same atomic counter, so concurrent encryptions get distinct nonce counter values. The counter survives key activation and peer reconnection, and peer key-status reports cannot reset it. This prevents those transitions from causing nonce reuse while the same TX key remains installed. The nonce format is unchanged, and receivers do not require consecutive counter values, so sharing the counter across peers remains compatible with existing receivers. A pre-existing check still invokes key revocation in the unlikely event that the counter wraps to zero. | |
| Title | tipc: prevent GCM nonce reuse on peer key changes | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
Sign in to view the affected projects.
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-10-18T15:48:51.902Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.371Z
Link: CVE-2026-98805
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-10-18T16:17:34.567
Modified: 2026-10-18T16:17:34.567
Link: CVE-2026-98805
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.