CVE-2026-72020

CRITICALPre-NVD 9.89.8
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score 9.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: CRITICAL) published 2026-08-15. a secondary CVSS source baseline 9.8; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, secondary
Trending — 5 sources updated this week
9.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 1%CVSS: 9.8Exploit: None knownExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new

Commit 9a05475cebdd ("ipvs: avoid kmem_cache_zalloc in ip_vs_conn_new") changed ip_vs_conn_new() to allocate an ip_vs_conn object with kmem_cache_alloc(). The function then initializes many fields explicitly, but only resets in_seq.delta and out_seq.delta in the two struct ip_vs_seq members.

That leaves init_seq and previous_delta uninitialized. This is normally harmless while the corresponding IP_VS_CONN_F_IN_SEQ or IP_VS_CONN_F_OUT_SEQ flag is clear. For connections learned from a sync message, however, ip_vs_proc_conn() preserves those flags from IP_VS_CONN_F_BACKUP_MASK and passes opt=NULL when the message omits IPVS_OPT_SEQ_DATA. In that case the new connection can be hashed with SEQ flags set but with the rest of in_seq/out_seq still containing stale slab data.

When a packet for such a connection is later handled by an IPVS application helper, vs_fix_seq() and vs_fix_ack_seq() use previous_delta and init_seq to rewrite TCP sequence numbers. A malformed sync message can therefore make forwarded packets carry stale slab bytes in their TCP seq/ack numbers, and can also corrupt the forwarded TCP flow.

Reset both struct ip_vs_seq members completely before publishing the connection. This matches the existing "reset struct ip_vs_seq" comment and keeps the sequence-adjustment gates inactive unless valid sequence data is installed later.

CVSS v3
9.8
EG Score
9.8(high)
EG Risk
49(Track)
EG Risk 49/100SSVC: Track

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity98% × 45%
Exploitation1% × 40%
Automatability30% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
1%
EPSS %ILE
51%
KEV
Not listed

Published

August 15, 2026

Last Modified

August 17, 2026

Advisory Details (8)

Auto-updated Aug 17, 2026
No patch confirmed yet.
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d0eed7177e822cab83141e5c44b2aa345c7fd379
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9e36602cbec552286f7e691cfd366525c565ee74
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83fb4c2c5344f02eac929f66de3c9d1adfcde04c
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6378c5cb360eb1750f88839d7c3613ea92ac1816
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6335ab62d5fc9ed875279238233fba3462c168f5
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3bf9a260188b2a5449cbddc032a749ab433fe328
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32c299e28b8eea6cbbd23b97dc61401e9ef9c445
generic

ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new - kernel/git/stable/linux.git - Linux kernel stable tree

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2975324d164c552b028632f107b567302863b7f6

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-72020(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 52× in last 7d / 52× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

  1. 2026-08-21 08:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-08-21 05:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-08-21 01:24 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-08-21 01:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-08-20 22:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-08-20 21:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-08-20 18:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-08-20 14:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-08-20 10:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-08-20 07:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-08-20 03:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-08-20 00:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-08-19 20:25 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-08-19 20:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-08-19 17:04 UTCEPSS rescore
  16. 2026-08-19 16:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-08-19 12:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-08-19 09:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-08-19 05:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-08-19 02:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-08-18 22:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-08-18 18:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-08-18 15:12 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-08-18 15:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-08-18 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 27 more
  1. 2026-08-18 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-08-18 11:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-08-18 07:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-08-18 04:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-08-18 00:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-08-17 20:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-08-17 17:22 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-08-17 17:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-08-17 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-08-17 13:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-08-17 10:07 UTCEG score recompute
  12. 2026-08-17 10:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-08-17 06:30 UTCEG score recompute
  14. 2026-08-17 06:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-08-17 06:01 UTCEG score recompute 9.80
  16. 2026-08-17 06:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-08-17 05:54 UTCMITRE cvelistV5CVSS v3 → 9.8 · severity → CRITICAL
  18. 2026-08-17 05:34 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-08-17 05:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-08-17 05:24 UTCMITRE cvelistV5
  21. 2026-08-16 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-08-16 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-08-16 02:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-08-15 06:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-08-15 06:23 UTCNVD update
  26. 2026-08-15 06:19 UTCEG score recompute
  27. 2026-08-15 06:02 UTCMITRE cvelistV5first tracked

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-72020?
CVE-2026-72020 is a critical vulnerability published on August 15, 2026. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipvs: reset full ipvsseq structs in ipvsconn_new Commit 9a05475cebdd ("ipvs: avoid kmemcachezalloc in ipvsconnnew") changed ipvsconnnew() to allocate an ipvsconn object with kmemcachealloc(). The function then initializes many…
When was CVE-2026-72020 disclosed?
CVE-2026-72020 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on August 15, 2026, with the most recent update on August 17, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-72020 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-72020 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 49.5% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-72020?
CVE-2026-72020 has a CVSS v3 base score of 9.8 (NVD).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-72020?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-72020, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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