VulnerabilityPublished 19 Jul 2026

CVE-2026-64078: Linux kernel · netfilter: x_tables: add and use xtables_unregister_table_exit

Source GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 7.8 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

7.8High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 2% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: Low
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: Low: The attacker is authorized with (i.e., requires) privileges that provide basic user capabilities that could normally affect only settings and files owned by a user. Alternatively, an attacker with Low privileges may have the ability to cause an impact only to non-sensitive resources.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 19 Jul 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-crf8-9wpw-7jgp

What to do

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel by adding the xtables_unregister_table_exit helper to properly clean up netfilter tables during module removal. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes this fix. Since this is a kernel-level fix, applying the official kernel update or patch from the vendor is the recommended remediation.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: x_tables: add and use xtables_unregister_table_exit Previous change added xtables_unregister_table_pre_exit to detach the table from the packetpath and to unlink it from the active table list. In case of rmmod, userspace that is doing set/getsockopt for this table will not be able to re-instantiate the table: 1. The larval table has been removed already 2. existing instantiated table is no longer on the xt pernet table list. This adds the second stage helper: unlink the table from the dying list, free the hook ops (if any) and do the audit notification. It replaces xt_unregister_table().

Impact

Improper cleanup of netfilter tables during module removal could lead to inconsistent kernel state affecting userspace applications that interact with these tables via set/getsockopt. While no direct exploit in the wild is known, the vulnerability could cause failures or unexpected behavior in network filtering operations.

Summary

The Linux kernel netfilter x_tables subsystem previously used xtables_unregister_table_pre_exit to detach tables from the packet path and unlink them from the active table list during module removal. However, this was insufficient for complete cleanup, potentially leaving tables in a 'dying' list and causing issues for userspace attempting to re-instantiate these tables. The vulnerability was resolved by introducing xtables_unregister_table_exit, a second-stage helper that unlinks tables from the dying list, frees hook operations, and sends audit notifications, replacing the older xt_unregister_table function. This change ensures proper resource cleanup and consistent state during module unload.

References

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