CVE-2026-23272 | netfilter: nf_tables: unconditionally bump set->nelems before insertion

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: unconditionally bump set->nelems before insertion In case that the set is full, a new element gets published then removed without waiting for the RCU grace period, while RCU reader can be walking over it already. To address this issue, add the element transaction even if set is full, but toggle the set_full flag to report -ENFILE so the abort path safely unwinds the set to its previous state. As for element updates, decrement set->nelems to restore it. A simpler fix is to call synchronize_rcu() in the error path. However, with a large batch adding elements to already maxed-out set, this could cause noticeable slowdown of such batches.

Published: 2026-03-20 Last update: 2026-06-17 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-23272 is rated Low Risk (32.1/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.12%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-23272

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.02% 0.12% +0.10%
2 2026-03-20 0.02%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-23272

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
1.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-23272

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-23272

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-23272 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-23272
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23272
suse high CVE-2026-23272 severity important: SUSE including 125 source package names (2.1.3-6.144:kernel-default-base-6.4.0-41.1.21.18, 2.1.3-7.127:kernel-default-6.4.0-41.1, …), 285 product×package rows across 40 product lines (Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container, Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-os-container, … (40 product lines)): First Fixed 247, Fixed 25, Known Not Affected 13. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-23272/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-23272 medium priority: Ubuntu including 157 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1256 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 871, ignored 170, needed 124, released 83, not-affected 8. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-23272

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-23272

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 4.9.33, < 4.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 4.10.1, < 6.18.17 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.7 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 4.10 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:4.10:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-23272

cvelogic Threat Intelligence