CVE-2026-98622

net/sched: act_ct: don't WARN on benign flow_offload_alloc() failure

Published Oct 18, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 4.7 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
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.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Debian DLA Debian DLA DLA-4850-1 linux-6.12 security update
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8961-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9019-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9020-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9022-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9023-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9024-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9025-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9026-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9029-1 Linux kernel (Raspberry Pi) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9039-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9040-1 Linux kernel (Low Latency NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9066-1 Linux kernel (HWE) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-9091-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA Tegra) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-362
CWE-455
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-617
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 4.7, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Moderate

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-362
CWE-455
Type Values Removed Values Added
Description 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.
Title net/sched: act_ct: don't WARN on benign flow_offload_alloc() failure
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Oct 19, 2026, 9:22 AM
Reserved
Sep 25, 2026, 10:25 AM
Status
Received
Published
Oct 18, 2026, 4:17 PM
Modified
Oct 19, 2026, 10:19 AM
Severity
Moderate
Public date
Oct 18, 2026, 12:00 AM