PwnEscape: guest-to-host KVM escape via Linux checksum processing (CVE-2026-99999)
Researchers at pwn.ai disclosed CVE-2026-99999, a critical Linux kernel flaw in IPv4 checksum handling that lets a guest overwrite validated headers and leak host memory. Linux CNA rates it CVSS 9.3 and Red Hat 8.8; host root code execution was shown only in a researcher-owned KVM setup, while Vercel confirmed a production memory leak with no customer data access.
- CVSS 9.3 (Linux CNA) and 8.8 (Red Hat); affects virtio-net, KVM, Firecracker and Vercel Sandbox
- Guest-controlled checksum metadata changes IPv4 header length from 20 to 60 bytes
- Vercel confirmed a production host memory leak with no customer data exposure
- Host root code execution demonstrated only in researcher test environments
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