CVE-2026-90061: netfilter: nf_tables: skip double clone set expressions on element insert

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-17 · updated 2026-10-30

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: skip double clone set expressions on element insert Both the dynset and newsetelem path clone the existing set expressions when setting set element expressions if no override expressions are provided. This results in a double clone, once to clone the template set expressions then another clone on the new element. Add a flag to annotate if userspace provides a override expression (ie. expression of the same type of the set but different configuration), otherwise borrow the existing expression from the set. Add conditionals to release expression iif they represent an override. Use this new override_exprs flag to dump the dynset expression override to userspace. This simplifies the existing logic and it also fixes a bug with the connlimit expression which results in a module refcount imbalance WARNING splat when resorting on the default set expressions.

Affected products

Linux: 5.7 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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