net/sched: act_ct: fix sk_buff leak when the header checks reject a packet
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: act_ct: fix sk_buff leak when the header checks reject a packet tcf_ct_handle_fragments() runs its header sanity checks before handing anything to the defragmentation engine: if (family == NFPROTO_IPV4) err = tcf_ct_ipv4_is_fragment(skb, &frag); else err = tcf_ct_ipv6_is_fragment(skb, &frag); if (err || !frag) return err; tcf_ct_ipv4_is_fragment() returns -EINVAL or -ENOMEM; tcf_ct_ipv6_is_fragment() adds -EPROTO when ipv6_find_hdr() fails. None of them frees or queues the skb, so on that path the caller still owns it. tcf_ct_act() however funnels every non-zero return into the ownership-transfer exit: err = tcf_ct_handle_fragments(net, skb, family, p->zone, &defrag); if (err) goto out_frag; ... out_frag: if (err != -EINPROGRESS) tcf_action_inc_drop_qstats(&c->common); return TC_ACT_CONSUMED; TC_ACT_CONSUMED means the action took ownership of the skb, so no caller frees it - sch_handle_ingress(), sch_handle_egress() and tcf_qevent_handle() all deliberately skip the free for that verdict. The skb is therefore orphaned: one sk_buff plus its data buffer is leaked per malformed packet, unbounded. Note the drop counter is already incremented for these errors, so the statistics claim a drop that never happens. Three different ownership states reach out_frag: today - the skb may be queued by the defrag engine (-EINPROGRESS), already freed by nf_ct_handle_fragments(), or still owned by us. Tell the caller which of those it is, and free the packet ourselves in the last case, which restores the TC_ACT_SHOT behaviour that predated the Fixes: commit. Reproduced on v7.2-rc6 with a 54-byte frame carrying a 40-byte IPv6 header with nexthdr = 0 (hop-by-hop) and nothing after it, on a clsact ingress chain with "action ct". kmemleak reports one leaked 232-byte skbuff_head_cache object plus its 704-byte data buffer per packet; with this patch it reports none.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- None
- Automatable
- Yes
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.15.148 to before 5.15.217; 6.1.75 to before 6.1.184; 6.6.14 to before 6.6.152; 6.7.2 to before 6.8 | 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.152, 6.8 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.8 and later | 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.15.148 to before 5.15.217; 6.1.75 to before 6.1.184; 6.6.14 to before 6.6.152; 6.7.2 to before 6.8 Fixed in 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.152, 6.8 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.8 and later Fixed in 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.152, 6.8
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.15.217, 6.1.184, 6.6.152, 6.12.104, 6.18.45, 7.1.9, 7.2
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-74621
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-pjmq-j37r-3mm4
- 2026-10-13 EPSS moved to the below the 50th percentile
- 2026-10-18 CISA SSVC decision points changed
- 2026-10-30 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
References
Other 7
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5dbecc2016e1692fd1c2532af9c41ba729cb747
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23e97d594ddd0153020c506d5041048fbde1beb4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/737873a59905a54ca0d2d127ef882f3f88bf4379
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47d99828591d0fe8be4b9c8992ff3b8e47968db9
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b47bb899e04b5407c5a63fe88d4b6676586a6e84
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/439d3e404f9d5e515911cc8132cde198b337c19e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a7ed561671aa6a911a2de99e59ef670a4d0b1df
More Linux vulnerabilities
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Sources
- CVE-2026-74621 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-74621 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-pjmq-j37r-3mm4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-74621 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences