NULL pointer dereference in strongSwan - CVE-2026-78126
Published: September 22, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU151580
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 8.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-78126
CWE-ID: CWE-476
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to a missing state check in the eap-aka plugin when processing an AKA-Synchronization-Failure message before issuing an AKA-Challenge. A remote attacker can send an unexpected AKA-Synchronization-Failure message to cause a denial of service.
The issue occurs when the request_identity option is enabled, which is the default configuration.
Affected software
strongSwan
Debian Linux
strongswan (Debian package)
Debian Linux
strongswan (Debian package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-78126
Install security update from vendor's website.
strongSwan - update to 6.1.0
strongswan (Debian package) - update to 6.0.1-6+deb13u7
strongswan (Debian package) - update to 6.0.1-6+deb13u7