CVE-2026-45859

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: do shared-unconfirmed check before segmentation 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.

CVSS v3.1 Score

7.5

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0060

Probability of exploitation

0.44%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/207b3ebacb6113acaaec0d171d5307032c690004 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/23901aa6b8a2f294c4b774436b4691f3ff863a8f https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/79b713ef4261a8ead96af4703f89d0b5f25532e2 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b740e7ddd7ca0dbfeafca3f5e52717206cf28524

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-45859? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: do shared-unconfirmed check before segmentation 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. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.5 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-45859? +

CVE-2026-45859 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0060, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-45859? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.