Linux Kernel TCP Flaw With 9.8 CVSS Score Affects Ubuntu, Red Hat and Other Distributions

A critical vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-98432 has been discovered in the Linux kernel's TCP code, receiving a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10. The flaw affects major Linux distributions including Ubuntu and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Notably, Anthropic disclosed on October 27 that its AI model was able to write a functional exploit leveraging this vulnerability. The exploit allows a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands as root on vulnerable Linux servers. This makes the vulnerability particularly dangerous as it requires no credentials and can be triggered remotely. The Linux kernel's own CVE team confirmed the severity rating. Patches and mitigations are expected to be distributed across affected Linux distributions.