In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: cttimeout: detach dataplane timeout policy and repurpose refcount
Add a refcount for struct nf_ct_timeout which is used by ct extension to
set the custom ct timeout policy, this tells us that the ct timeout is
being used by a conntrack entry. When the last conntrack entry drops the
refcount on the ct timeout, the ct timeout is released.
Remove the refcount for control plane which controls if the ruleset
refers to the timeout policy. After this update, it is possible to
remove the ct timeout policy from nfnetlink_cttimeout immediately.
This is for simplicity not to handle two refcounts on a single object.
Remove nf_queue_nf_hook_drop(): a packet sitting in nfqueue will just
hold a reference to the nf_ct_timeout object until packet is reinjected,
since this is part of the ct extension, this will be released by the
time the conntrack is freed.
nf_ct_untimeout() is still called to clean up in a best effort basis:
the ct timeout on existing entries gets removed when the ct timeout goes
away, but as long as the iptables ruleset still refers to the ct timeout
through a template, new conntracks may keep attaching it and extend its
lifetime until the rule is removed.
nf_ct_untimeout() is not called anymore from module removal path, this
is unlikely to find timeouts give module refcount is bumped, and the new
refcount already tracks the ct timeout policy use so it is released when
unused.
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (7.8): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 7.8 is its impact severity (EG Severity), not escalated.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 0.1% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-10-17). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- None on record (CISA KEV, EG-KEV Tier 1)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Track at medium mission impactTrack at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).CISA BOD 26-04: 14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.Each input and its source: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low or medium mission impact; Track* at high (mission-essential systems).
A fix is available. Apply it within your standard update timelines.
Exploitation none (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)14 days if the affected system is publicly exposed; Fix on system upgrade if it is not.
In CISA KEV no (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it