skb_scrub_packet(9)

📦 version 7.3.1, in nixpkgs unstable

💅 skb_scrub_packet(9) — the glow-up your skb gets before it crosses borders 🦋

okay so this one's from the Kernel API Manual, bestie — it's a (9) page, meaning it's kernel-internal API, not your average ls situation. Let's get into it 💖

✨ NAME ✨

skb_scrub_packet — scrub an skb 🧼🫧

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

void skb_scrub_packet (struct sk_buff *skb , bool xnet );

🎀 ARGUMENTS 🎀

  • skb — the buffer you wanna clean 🧽 like, the actual thing getting scrubbed
  • xnet — says whether the packet is crossing netns (network namespaces, iykyk) 🌐

💖 DESCRIPTION 💖

so here's the vibe: skb_scrub_packet is your go-to after you've encapsulated or decapsulated a packet into/from a tunnel 🌀 some information has got to be cleared during those operations — that's just how it is, no cap.

it's also the move when you need to clean an skb before injecting it in another namespace — that's the xnet == true case, and it's kind of the whole plot 🔥

the reason? we have to clear all the information in the skb that could impact namespace isolation 🛡️ like, every last crumb. leaving stuff behind = vibe leak, and we do not leak across namespaces, periodt.

🌈 SEE ALSO 🌈

the kernel file ./net/core/skbuff.c, plus literally the entire skb cinematic universe — grab a snack, this is a long one 🍓:

and that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 this one lives in ./net/core and it's dated October 2026 — so screenshot it, cite it, frame it, whatever, it's iconic 👑✨

📦 where this page comes from