Improper input validation in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-98793

 

Improper input validation in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-98793

Published: October 22, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU157158
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 6.7 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:H/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-98793
CWE-ID: CWE-20
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability: No public exploit available

Vulnerability details

The vulnerability allows a local privileged user to cause a denial of service by triggering a kernel crash.

The vulnerability exists due to improper input validation in the Linux kernel netfilter function bpf_ct_set_nat_info() when handling NAT manipulation types. A local privileged user can supply an invalid NAT manipulation type through this function to trigger a kernel warning and potentially cause a kernel crash. If execution continues after the warning, inconsistent connection tracking state causes cleanup to attempt to unlink an uninitialized list node.


Affected software

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-lowlatency (Ubuntu package)
linux-raspi (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package)
linux-realtime (Ubuntu package)
linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gkeop (Ubuntu package)
linux-gke (Ubuntu package)
linux-vmware (Ubuntu package)
linux-ibm-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-raspi-realtime (Ubuntu package)
linux-realtime-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-7.0 (Ubuntu package)

How to mitigate CVE-2026-98793

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-149.149, 7.0.0-43.43
linux-lowlatency (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-149.149.1
linux-raspi (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1068.72, 7.0.0-1023.23
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1073.82, 7.0.0-1020.21
linux-gcp (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1073.81, 7.0.0-1017.19
linux-aws (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1069.74, 7.0.0-1017.18
linux-ibm (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1069.70, 7.0.0-1018.18
linux-oracle (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1067.71, 7.0.0-1016.18
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1067.70
linux-realtime (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.1-1064.65, 7.0.0-43.43.1
linux-lowlatency-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-149.149.1~22.04.1
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1071.78~22.04.1
linux-azure-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.82~22.04.1
linux-oracle-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1067.71~22.04.1
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1069.74~22.04.1
linux-gkeop (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1053.57
linux-gke (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1068.77, 7.0.0-1010.11
linux-vmware (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1010.10
linux-ibm-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1069.70~22.04.1
linux-gcp-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.81~22.04.1
linux-aws-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1069.74+fips1
linux-gcp-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.81+fips1
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1073.82+fips1
linux-raspi-realtime (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-2056.58
linux-realtime-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.1-1064.65~22.04.1
linux-oracle-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1016.18~24.04.1
linux-azure-fde-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1019.19~24.04.1
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.19~24.04.1
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1018.18
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1019.19
linux-aws-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1017.18~24.04.1

External References

Related Security Bulletins