In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: ctnetlink: fix use-after-free in ctnetlink_dump_exp_ct()
ctnetlink_dump_exp_ct() stores a conntrack pointer in cb->data for the
netlink dump callback ctnetlink_exp_ct_dump_table(), but drops the
conntrack reference immediately after netlink_dump_start(). When the
dump spans multiple rounds, the second recvmsg() triggers the dump
callback which dereferences the now-freed conntrack via nfct_help(ct),
leading to a use-after-free on ct->ext.
The bug is that the netlink_dump_control has no .start or .done
callbacks to manage the conntrack reference across dump rounds. Other
dump functions in the same file (e.g. ctnetlink_get_conntrack) properly
use .start/.done callbacks for this purpose.
Fix this by adding .start and .done callbacks that hold and release the
conntrack reference for the duration of the dump, and move the
nfct_help() call after the cb->args[0] early-return check in the dump
callback to avoid dereferencing ct->ext unnecessarily.
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ctnetlink_exp_ct_dump_table+0x4f/0x2e0
Read of size 8 at addr ffff88810597ebf0 by task ctnetlink_poc/133
CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 133 Comm: ctnetlink_poc Not tainted 7.0.0-rc2+ #3 PREEMPTLAZY
Call Trace:
ctnetlink_exp_ct_dump_table+0x4f/0x2e0
netlink_dump+0x333/0x880
netlink_recvmsg+0x3e2/0x4b0
? aa_sk_perm+0x184/0x450
sock_recvmsg+0xde/0xf0
Allocated by task 133:
kmem_cache_alloc_noprof+0x134/0x440
__nf_conntrack_alloc+0xa8/0x2b0
ctnetlink_create_conntrack+0xa1/0x900
ctnetlink_new_conntrack+0x3cf/0x7d0
nfnetlink_rcv_msg+0x48e/0x510
netlink_rcv_skb+0xc9/0x1f0
nfnetlink_rcv+0xdb/0x220
netlink_unicast+0x3ec/0x590
netlink_sendmsg+0x397/0x690
__sys_sendmsg+0xf4/0x180
Freed by task 0:
slab_free_after_rcu_debug+0xad/0x1e0
rcu_core+0x5c3/0x9c0
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.1% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-09). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it