CVE-2026-43451
Analyzed
Analyzed - Analysis Complete
Memory Leak in Linux Kernel Netfilter
Publication date: 2026-05-08
Last updated on: 2026-05-21
Assigner: kernel.org
Description
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: fix entry leak in bridge verdict error path
nfqnl_recv_verdict() calls find_dequeue_entry() to remove the queue
entry from the queue data structures, taking ownership of the entry.
For PF_BRIDGE packets, it then calls nfqa_parse_bridge() to parse VLAN
attributes. If nfqa_parse_bridge() returns an error (e.g. NFQA_VLAN
present but NFQA_VLAN_TCI missing), the function returns immediately
without freeing the dequeued entry or its sk_buff.
This leaks the nf_queue_entry, its associated sk_buff, and all held
references (net_device refcounts, struct net refcount). Repeated
triggering exhausts kernel memory.
Fix this by dropping the entry via nfqnl_reinject() with NF_DROP verdict
on the error path, consistent with other error handling in this file.
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
| Probability: | |
| Percentile: |
Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | 7.0 |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.2 (inc) to 6.6.130 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.11 (inc) to 5.15.203 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 5.16 (inc) to 6.1.167 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.13 (inc) to 6.18.19 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.7 (inc) to 6.12.78 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 6.19 (inc) to 6.19.9 (exc) |
| linux | linux_kernel | From 4.7 (inc) to 5.10.253 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
KEV
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-401 | The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse. |
