CVE-2026-45859

HIGHCVSS 7.5/10EPSS 0.60%

Last modified

CVE-2026-45859 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: do shared-unconfirmed check before segmentation Ulrich reports a regression with nfqueue: If an application did not set the 'F_GSO' capability flag and a gso packet with an unconfirmed nf_conn entry is received all packets are now dropped instead of queued, because the check happens after skb_gso_segment(). In that case, we did have exclusive ownership of the skb and its associated conntrack entry. EPSS estimates a 0.60% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: do shared-unconfirmed check before segmentation Ulrich reports a regression with nfqueue: If an application did not set the 'F_GSO' capability flag and a gso packet with an unconfirmed nf_conn entry is received all packets are now dropped instead of queued, because the check happens after skb_gso_segment(). In that case, we did have exclusive ownership of the skb and its associated conntrack entry. The elevated use count is due to skb_clone happening via skb_gso_segment(). Move the check so that its peformed vs. the aggregated packet. Then, annotate the individual segments except the first one so we can do a 2nd check at reinject time. For the normal case, where userspace does in-order reinjects, this avoids packet drops: first reinjected segment continues traversal and confirms entry, remaining segments observe the confirmed entry. While at it, simplify nf_ct_drop_unconfirmed(): We only care about unconfirmed entries with a refcnt > 1, there is no need to special-case dying entries. This only happens with UDP. With TCP, the only unconfirmed packet will be the TCP SYN, those aren't aggregated by GRO. Next patch adds a udpgro test case to cover this scenario.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.5/10

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS Probability
0.60%

44.0th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

VendorProductVersions
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.15.166, < 5.16
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.1.107, < 6.2
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.6.48, < 6.7
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.10.7, < 6.11
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.11.1, < 6.12.75
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.13, < 6.18.14
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.19, < 6.19.4
LinuxLinux Kernel6.11

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-45859?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: do shared-unconfirmed check before segmentation Ulrich reports a regression with nfqueue: If an application did not set the 'F_GSO' capability flag and a gso packet with an unconfirmed nf_conn entry is received all packets are now dropped instead of queued, because the check happens after skb_gso_segment(). In that case, we did have exclusive ownership of the skb and its associated conntrack entry. The elevated use count is due to skb_clone happening via skb_gso_segment(). Move the check so that its peformed vs. the aggregated packet. Then, annotate the individual segments except the first one so we can do a 2nd check at reinject time. For the normal case, where userspace does in-order reinjects, this avoids packet drops: first reinjected segment continues traversal and confirms entry, remaining segments observe the confirmed entry. While at it, simplify nf_ct_drop_unconfirmed(): We only care about unconfirmed entries with a refcnt > 1, there is no need to special-case dying entries. This only happens with UDP. With TCP, the only unconfirmed packet will be the TCP SYN, those aren't aggregated by GRO. Next patch adds a udpgro test case to cover this scenario.
How severe is CVE-2026-45859?
CVE-2026-45859 has a CVSS score of 7.5/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.60% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-45859?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

Are you affected by CVE-2026-45859?

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Source: NVD / NIST