In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ctnetlink: ensure...

Description

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

netfilter: ctnetlink: ensure safe access to master conntrack

Holding reference on the expectation is not sufficient, the master
conntrack object can just go away, making exp->master invalid.

To access exp->master safely:

  • Grab the nf_conntrack_expect_lock, this gets serialized with
    clean_from_lists() which also holds this lock when the master
    conntrack goes away.

  • Hold reference on master conntrack via nf_conntrack_find_get().
    Not so easy since the master tuple to look up for the master conntrack
    is not available in the existing problematic paths.

This patch goes for extending the nf_conntrack_expect_lock section
to address this issue for simplicity, in the cases that are described
below this is just slightly extending the lock section.

The add expectation command already holds a reference to the master
conntrack from ctnetlink_create_expect().

However, the delete expectation command needs to grab the spinlock
before looking up for the expectation. Expand the existing spinlock
section to address this to cover the expectation lookup. Note that,
the nf_ct_expect_iterate_net() calls already grabs the spinlock while
iterating over the expectation table, which is correct.

The get expectation command needs to grab the spinlock to ensure master
conntrack does not go away. This also expands the existing spinlock
section to cover the expectation lookup too. I needed to move the
netlink skb allocation out of the spinlock to keep it GFP_KERNEL.

For the expectation events, the IPEXP_DESTROY event is already delivered
under the spinlock, just move the delivery of IPEXP_NEW under the
spinlock too because the master conntrack event cache is reached through
exp->master.

While at it, add lockdep notations to help identify what codepaths need
to grab the spinlock.

Basic information

Type
unreviewed
Severity
high
Advisory on GitHub
Open advisory ↗
Repository advisory
Source code
Not specified
Published (advisory)
2026-05-06 12:30:28 UTC
Updated
2026-06-19 15:33:10 UTC
NVD published
2026-05-06

EPSS Score

Score Percentile
0.10% 0.91%

CVSS Scores

Base score Version Severity Vector
7.8 3.1
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.

Identifiers

CWEs

CWE id Name
CWE-362 Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

References

cvelogic Threat Intelligence