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CVE-2026-64189

netfilter: ipset: fix race between dump and ip_set_list resize

7.8 EPSS 0.1% AV:L

Published 2026-07-20 (3 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem net/netfilter. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-64189 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 12bookwormfixedDLA-4720-1 · 2026-08-05 · text6.1.180-1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4720-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-05, in 6.1.180-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 13trixiefixedDSA-6393-1 · 2026-07-21 · text6.12.96-1Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6393-1 shipped the fix on 2026-07-21, in 6.12.96-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.1.4-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.4-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.1.4-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.4-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12fixedDLA-4724-1 · 2026-08-07 · text6.12.100-1~deb12u1Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4724-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-07, in 6.12.100-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

The release path of ip_set_dump_do() and ip_set_dump_done() read inst->ip_set_list via ip_set_ref_netlink(), a plain rcu_dereference_raw() of the array pointer. These run from netlink_recvmsg() without the nfnl mutex and without an RCU read-side critical section. A concurrent ip_set_create() can grow the array: it publishes the new array, calls synchronize_net() and then kvfree()s the old one. Since the dump paths read the array outside any RCU reader, synchronize_net() does not wait for them and the old array can be freed while they still index into it, causing a use-after-free. The dumped set itself stays pinned via set->ref_netlink, so only the array load needs protecting. Take rcu_read_lock() around it, matching ip_set_get_byname() and __ip_set_put_byindex(). BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ip_set_dump_do (net/netfilter/ipset/ip_set_core.c:1697) Read of size 8 at addr ffff88800b5c4018 by task exploit/150 Call Trace: ... kasan_report (mm/kasan/report.c:595) ip_set_dump_do (net/netfilter/ipset/ip_set_core.c:1697) netlink_dump (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:2325) netlink_recvmsg (net/netlink/af_netlink.c:1976) sock_recvmsg (net/socket.c:1159) __sys_recvfrom (net/socket.c:2315) ... Oops: general protection fault, probably for non-canonical address ... KASAN NOPTI KASAN: maybe wild-memory-access in range [0x02d6...d0-0x02d6...d7] RIP: 0010:ip_set_dump_do (net/netfilter/ipset/ip_set_core.c:1698) Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception

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.

net/netfilter/ipset/ip_set_core.c

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

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_IP_SET|CONFIG_NETFILTER' /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 ip_set

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, sid, bookworm · linux-6.12m
m
a loadable module on every flavour - check lsmod, can be blacklisted
Build switches
CONFIG_IP_SET, CONFIG_NETFILTER
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
2026-07-20 (3 months ago)source
CVSS
7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it
Attack vector
local (AV:L)source
EPSS
0.10%, higher than 0.7% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
net/netfilter

Upstream fixes

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

IntroducedFixed inCommit
4.205.10.261a7a299277959
4.205.15.2121bc67c3fc98e
4.206.1.178e8a9976b61f1
4.206.6.14596fbafc20ebd
4.206.12.96ff86ea9b7fdf
4.206.18.3981d54c766337
4.207.1.4e8ee198bbc04
4.207.27cd9103283b2
4.19.500

Debian advisories

AdvisoryDateShipped toDebian
DLA-4724-12026-08-07bookworm 6.12.100-1~deb12u1tracker
DLA-4723-12026-08-07bullseye 6.1.180-1~deb11u1tracker
DLA-4720-12026-08-05bookworm 6.1.180-1tracker
DLA-4717-12026-08-05bullseye 5.10.262-1tracker
DSA-6393-12026-07-21trixie 6.12.96-1tracker

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:LAttack vector, local
The vulnerable dump and resize paths are reached through local NETLINK_NETFILTER send and receive syscalls, not through remotely received packets.
AC:LAttack complexity, low
The attacker controls both sides by issuing an ipset dump and concurrent CREATE requests that grow ip_set_list, and can repeat the race without any victim-controlled condition.
PR:LPrivileges required, low
NFNETLINK requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in the network namespace's owning user namespace, which an unprivileged user can obtain through user and network namespaces on deployments permitting unprivileged user namespaces.
UI:NUser interaction, none
After obtaining local execution, the attacker can trigger both racing operations without any action by another user.
S:UScope, unchanged
Exploitation compromises the kernel of the same host and constitutes standard local privilege escalation rather than crossing a VM, hypervisor, or IOMMU boundary.
C:HConfidentiality impact, high
Reclaiming the freed array can make the loaded struct ip_set pointer attacker-influenced, after which variant-pointer dereferences can enable kernel code execution and arbitrary memory disclosure.
I:HIntegrity impact, high
The release path performs an indirect uref callback and decrements ref_netlink through the stale pointer, providing control-flow and kernel-memory-write opportunities after heap reclamation.
A:HAvailability impact, high
The reported use-after-free produced a general-protection fault and kernel panic, and an attacker can trigger the race repeatedly.