Spurious kernel WARN in Linux net/sched act_ct flow offload
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 5 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel net/sched act_ct code is affected from 5.7 in the listed ranges. When flow_offload_alloc() returns NULL, either for a dying conntrack entry or a failed GFP_ATOMIC allocation, the tcf_ct_flow_table_add() path logs a kernel WARN. Both cases are expected under load. A local unprivileged user can trigger it by racing a conntrack flush against a tc action ct commit classifier, which panics systems set to panic_on_warn=1.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: act_ct: don't WARN on benign flow_offload_alloc() failure flow_offload_alloc() returns NULL when the conntrack entry is dying (e.g. raced with a conntrack flush) or when the GFP_ATOMIC allocation fails; both are expected under load and neither is a kernel bug. This path runs from softirq on every committed packet, so with panic_on_warn=1 an unprivileged user can panic the box just by racing a conntrack flush against a `tc ... action ct commit` classifier. Reproduced with a custom repro under QEMU: a small, fixed set of UDP flows through `tc filter ... action ct commit` on lo, raced against threads flooding bare ctnetlink CT_DELETE (flush) requests. Hits WARNING: net/sched/act_ct.c:437 (tcf_ct_flow_table_add(), inlined into tcf_ct_act() in this build) within ~15s on the unpatched kernel; same setup is clean on the patched kernel. The fix itself is behavior-preserving: both branches already did `goto err_alloc` before and after, only the WARN is removed.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Linux kernel fixed versions are 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9 and 7.3. Red Hat lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, 9 and 10 and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5 as affected without a fix and with no fix planned.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.55, 7.2.9, 7.3
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: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 2 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98622
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-qg6m-cv4g-hx6q
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e8fcf3f08834e939b797311742ee72b1e2a08096
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/af475f599270e59313552e6c6f3af8507da672b8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/424ba52c0058deeb940d02cba52eb0aeb288db33
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d512c484bd93a5f2794aa03c9faeb7bcb82dbd4a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d805560ad69cb266d669341ca01e26bffb0d2c67
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/00734f3684fcec42c319bedfe68a5d357c720b53
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/650787233c2fd6e515a7c5f371019a9fa080ccd2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/47abe7a5c4eb53269aca3506446f851572a059a3
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98622 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98622 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-qg6m-cv4g-hx6q · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98622 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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