CVE-2026-53183: mptcp: allow subflow rcv wnd to shrink

Severity: high (CVSS 7.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-25 · updated 2026-10-19
Weakness: CWE-400

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mptcp: allow subflow rcv wnd to shrink In MPTCP connection, the `window` field in the TCP header refers to the MPTCP-level rcv_nxt and it's right edge should not move backward. Such constraint is enforced at DSS option generation time. At the same time, the TCP stack ensures independently that the TCP-level rcv wnd right's edge does not move backward. That in turn causes artificial inflating of the MPTCP rcv window when the incoming data is acked at the TCP level and is OoO in the MPTCP sequence space (or lands in the backlog). As a consequence, the incoming traffic can exceed the receiver rcvbuf size even when the sender is not misbehaving. Prevent such scenario forcibly allowing the TCP subflow to shrink the TCP-level rcv wnd regardless of the current netns setting.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 5.19 before 6.1.176; from 6.2 before 6.6.143; from 6.7 before 6.12.94; from 6.13 before 6.18.36; from 6.19 before 7.0.13; 7.1-rc1, 7.1-rc2, 7.1-rc3, 7.1-rc4, 7.1-rc5, 7.1-rc6 — fixed in 6.1.176, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 6.6.143, 7.0.13

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.1.176, 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 6.6.143. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

Get alerted when CVE-2026-53183 or the next vulnerability affects your stack