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CVE-2026-98441

Linux: net/sched: act_ct: avoid modifying shared unconfirmed ct entry

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.17%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 5% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in2b783c562c3238ff50c34fd7a72a735c9cc73d9aAlso 4a04ed91575819fb1859311113e95700b709bec7CVE List
Published18 Oct 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 2b783c562c3238ff50c34fd7a72a735c9cc73d9aLinuxCVE List
  • 4a04ed91575819fb1859311113e95700b709bec7LinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/sched: act_ct: avoid modifying shared unconfirmed ct entry

In a case where skb with an unconfirmed ct entry gets cloned, we may end up processing both again but with different sets of extensions.

The series of events:

  1. The first clone wants to commit and runs the helpers wiring up

the extension pointer into the expectation list.

  1. Then it looses the confirmation keeping the entry unconfirmed.
  2. Second clone now wants to commit labels or run NAT and adds the

new extension for that breaking the pointer in the expectation list causing UAF on the destruction path later.

While this is possible to trigger, there should be no practical network pipeline where we need to process both clones without modifications in the same zone. So, let's just reset the entry in case for some reason we got an skb with a shared one. This doesn't affect any known use cases, but avoids any potential problems with sharing and modification of the unconfirmed ct entry.

Unlike openvswitch module, act_ct allows for NAT without commit. Changing that would be a uAPI break. So, act_ct needs to reset on NAT regardless of the commit flag to avoid reallocation of the extension space. This, however, doesn't really change the picture for sensible networking cases as there should be no need to run the same packet twice (before and after the clone) through conntrack without packet header or zone changes and without commit.

The fixes tag points to the introduction of helpers, since that's the main UAF trigger for the sharing.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 12

  • Linuxaffected: a21b06e7319129994f339ed47f512bbe57b77f5b before c812bb4aea13d385d048b5b24756aee2edf6f99eCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a21b06e7319129994f339ed47f512bbe57b77f5b before 2b783c562c3238ff50c34fd7a72a735c9cc73d9aCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a21b06e7319129994f339ed47f512bbe57b77f5b before 4a04ed91575819fb1859311113e95700b709bec7CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a21b06e7319129994f339ed47f512bbe57b77f5b before b097d9d7a5b09c8ec5c4c1a08e35ac5a66b06b44CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: a21b06e7319129994f339ed47f512bbe57b77f5b before f85009dfcd65e5969526b0db7a49b5413746e630CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 6.2CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 6.2CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.6.160 through 6.6.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.112 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.55 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2.9 through 7.2.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.3CVE List

References 5