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CVE-2026-45859

netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: do shared-unconfirmed check before segmentation

7.5 EPSS 0.6% AV:N

Published 2026-05-27 (5 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem include/net. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-45859 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormvulnerable6.1.190-1No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication.
Debian 13trixiefixed6.12.85-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.12.85-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed6.18.14-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.18.14-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed6.18.14-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 6.18.14-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

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.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

include/net/netfilter/nf_queue.h
net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c

What this is
NETFILTERMAINTAINERS section matched on include/net/netfilter/ · netfilter-devel@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Kernel module
nfnetlink_queue

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_NETFILTER|CONFIG_NETFILTER_NETLINK_QUEUE' /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

lsmod | grep -w nfnetlink_queue

Prints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this as a loadable module. Every release below compiles it as a module on every flavour, so whether the code is in the running kernel depends on whether that module is loaded.

  • bookworm, trixie, forky, sidm
m
a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
Build switches
CONFIG_NETFILTER, CONFIG_NETFILTER_NETLINK_QUEUE
Reads as
all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-05-27 (5 months ago)source
CVSS
7.5 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
network (AV:N)source
EPSS
0.61%, higher than 48.2% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
include/net

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
6.116.12.7579b713ef4261
6.116.18.1423901aa6b8a2
6.116.19.4b740e7ddd7ca
6.117.0207b3ebacb61
5.15.16600
6.1.10700
6.6.4800
6.10.700

Why the CNA scored it this way

Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source

AV:NAttack vector, network
The vulnerable nfnetlink_queue path processes packets that hit an NFQUEUE netfilter verdict; GRO-aggregated UDP traffic received from the network reaches it, so the dropping condition is triggered by remote network packets.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
Once an nfqueue without F_GSO exists, an attacker reliably triggers the drop by sending a UDP burst that GRO coalesces into a GSO skb for a new (unconfirmed) flow; no uncontrollable condition is required.
PR:NPrivileges required, none
Triggering the condition requires only sending network traffic to the host; no authentication or privileges are needed by the remote sender.
UI:NUser interaction, none
The packet drop occurs automatically during kernel packet processing with no victim interaction.
S:UScope, unchanged
The impact is confined to the kernel's own network packet processing; no security boundary is crossed.
C:NConfidentiality impact, none
The bug only causes packets to be dropped; no kernel memory is read or disclosed.
I:NIntegrity impact, none
No data is modified or written; dropped packets are simply not delivered, which is an availability rather than integrity effect.
A:HAvailability impact, high
All GSO-aggregated UDP packets of new (unconfirmed) conntrack flows are dropped on a non-F_GSO nfqueue, denying establishment/processing of those new flows — a sustained, network-triggerable denial of that traffic class.