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.
2. Then it looses the confirmation keeping the entry unconfirmed.
3. 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.
Analysis
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
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| Linux | Linux | affected |
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No data.
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No data available yet.
No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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Sun, 18 Oct 2026 16:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Weaknesses | CWE-758 |
Sun, 18 Oct 2026 15:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| 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. 2. Then it looses the confirmation keeping the entry unconfirmed. 3. 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. | |
| Title | net/sched: act_ct: avoid modifying shared unconfirmed ct entry | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-10-18T15:14:51.664Z
Reserved: 2026-09-25T10:25:14.349Z
Link: CVE-2026-98441
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-10-18T16:16:54.393
Modified: 2026-10-18T16:16:54.393
Link: CVE-2026-98441
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
Updated: 2026-10-18T16:30:13Z
-
CWE-758
Reliance on Undefined, Unspecified, or Implementation-Defined Behavior