{"dataType": "CVE_RECORD", "dataVersion": "5.2", "cveMetadata": {"cveId": "CVE-2026-98851", "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "state": "PUBLISHED", "assignerShortName": "Linux", "dateReserved": "2026-09-25T10:25:14.376Z", "datePublished": "2026-10-18T15:50:50.910Z", "dateUpdated": "2026-10-30T12:40:13.069Z"}, "containers": {"cna": {"providerMetadata": {"orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "shortName": "Linux", "dateUpdated": "2026-10-30T12:40:13.069Z"}, "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnetfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path\n\nnft_flow_offload_init() bumps the flowtable use count with\nnft_use_inc() before calling nf_ct_netns_get(). When the latter\nfails, the error is returned as-is and the reference is leaked.\n\nThe upper layers do not balance it either: nf_tables_newexpr()\nclears expr->ops when the expression init callback fails, so the\nnft_expr_more() iteration in nft_rule_expr_deactivate() and\nnf_tables_rule_destroy() stops right before the failed expression\nand its ->destroy callback, which would drop the reference, never\nruns.\n\nEach failed rule addition therefore leaks one flowtable reference\nand the flowtable can no longer be removed: NFT_MSG_DELFLOWTABLE\nkeeps reporting -EBUSY even though no rule references it.\n\nSave the nf_ct_netns_get() return value and undo the nft_use_inc()\nwhen it fails, restoring the inc/dec pairing within\nnft_flow_offload_init() itself."}], "affected": [{"product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": ["net/netfilter/nft_flow_offload.c"], "versions": [{"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "4e5a6d89083af6f23f0ac2cb611ef267590a3ece", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "1f43b6b099fa39032780b9494cedfd98f318f3c4", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "87f4914758f2da10b56cdb7f90ed815ade1e8ea3", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "1d27214fd9a4d2c0c6d998fc9d4fb61448a3438e", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "64ac0cb574c740bf723affb79b646eeba920db6b", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "c5f91098edee98c015f78488460a0609e62582a5", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "4cd378423a33194a773c267fc58606d28fce95cf", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}, {"version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "lessThan": "747928b5d4ff8c8de55138a54c13980e4bb88578", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git"}]}, {"product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": ["net/netfilter/nft_flow_offload.c"], "versions": [{"version": "4.16", "status": "affected"}, {"version": "0", "lessThan": "4.16", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "5.10.273", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "5.15.224", "lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.1.191", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.6.160", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.12.113", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "6.18.56", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "7.2.10", "lessThanOrEqual": "7.2.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver"}, {"version": "7.3", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"}]}], "cpeApplicability": [{"nodes": [{"operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [{"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "5.10.273"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "5.15.224"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "6.1.191"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "6.6.160"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.113"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.56"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "7.2.10"}, {"vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "4.16", "versionEndExcluding": "7.3"}]}]}], "references": [{"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e5a6d89083af6f23f0ac2cb611ef267590a3ece"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f43b6b099fa39032780b9494cedfd98f318f3c4"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87f4914758f2da10b56cdb7f90ed815ade1e8ea3"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d27214fd9a4d2c0c6d998fc9d4fb61448a3438e"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64ac0cb574c740bf723affb79b646eeba920db6b"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5f91098edee98c015f78488460a0609e62582a5"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cd378423a33194a773c267fc58606d28fce95cf"}, {"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/747928b5d4ff8c8de55138a54c13980e4bb88578"}], "title": "netfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path", "x_generator": {"engine": "bippy-1.2.0"}}}}

{}

{"affected": [{"affectedData": [{"defaultStatus": "unaffected", "product": "Linux", "programFiles": ["net/netfilter/nft_flow_offload.c"], "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "vendor": "Linux", "versions": [{"lessThan": "4e5a6d89083af6f23f0ac2cb611ef267590a3ece", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "1f43b6b099fa39032780b9494cedfd98f318f3c4", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "87f4914758f2da10b56cdb7f90ed815ade1e8ea3", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "1d27214fd9a4d2c0c6d998fc9d4fb61448a3438e", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "64ac0cb574c740bf723affb79b646eeba920db6b", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "c5f91098edee98c015f78488460a0609e62582a5", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "4cd378423a33194a773c267fc58606d28fce95cf", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}, {"lessThan": "747928b5d4ff8c8de55138a54c13980e4bb88578", "status": "affected", "version": "a3c90f7a2323b331ae816d5b0633e68148e25d04", "versionType": "git"}]}, {"defaultStatus": "affected", "product": "Linux", "programFiles": ["net/netfilter/nft_flow_offload.c"], "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "vendor": "Linux", "versions": [{"status": "affected", "version": "4.16"}, {"lessThan": "4.16", "status": "unaffected", "version": "0", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "5.10.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "5.10.273", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "5.15.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "5.15.224", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "6.1.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "6.1.191", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "6.6.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "6.6.160", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "6.12.113", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "6.18.56", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "7.2.*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "7.2.10", "versionType": "semver"}, {"lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "version": "7.3", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix"}]}], "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"}], "cveTags": [], "descriptions": [{"lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnetfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path\n\nnft_flow_offload_init() bumps the flowtable use count with\nnft_use_inc() before calling nf_ct_netns_get(). When the latter\nfails, the error is returned as-is and the reference is leaked.\n\nThe upper layers do not balance it either: nf_tables_newexpr()\nclears expr->ops when the expression init callback fails, so the\nnft_expr_more() iteration in nft_rule_expr_deactivate() and\nnf_tables_rule_destroy() stops right before the failed expression\nand its ->destroy callback, which would drop the reference, never\nruns.\n\nEach failed rule addition therefore leaks one flowtable reference\nand the flowtable can no longer be removed: NFT_MSG_DELFLOWTABLE\nkeeps reporting -EBUSY even though no rule references it.\n\nSave the nf_ct_netns_get() return value and undo the nft_use_inc()\nwhen it fails, restoring the inc/dec pairing within\nnft_flow_offload_init() itself."}], "id": "CVE-2026-98851", "lastModified": "2026-10-30T13:21:30.727", "metrics": {}, "published": "2026-10-18T16:17:39.490", "references": [{"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1d27214fd9a4d2c0c6d998fc9d4fb61448a3438e"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f43b6b099fa39032780b9494cedfd98f318f3c4"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4cd378423a33194a773c267fc58606d28fce95cf"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4e5a6d89083af6f23f0ac2cb611ef267590a3ece"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64ac0cb574c740bf723affb79b646eeba920db6b"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/747928b5d4ff8c8de55138a54c13980e4bb88578"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/87f4914758f2da10b56cdb7f90ed815ade1e8ea3"}, {"source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c5f91098edee98c015f78488460a0609e62582a5"}], "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "vulnStatus": "Received"}

{"bugzilla": {"description": "kernel: netfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path", "id": "2555227", "url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555227"}, "csaw": false, "cvss3": {"cvss3_base_score": "3.3", "cvss3_scoring_vector": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L", "status": "draft"}, "cwe": "CWE-911", "details": ["In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\nnetfilter: nft_flow_offload: drop flowtable reference on init error path\nnft_flow_offload_init() bumps the flowtable use count with\nnft_use_inc() before calling nf_ct_netns_get(). When the latter\nfails, the error is returned as-is and the reference is leaked.\nThe upper layers do not balance it either: nf_tables_newexpr()\nclears expr->ops when the expression init callback fails, so the\nnft_expr_more() iteration in nft_rule_expr_deactivate() and\nnf_tables_rule_destroy() stops right before the failed expression\nand its ->destroy callback, which would drop the reference, never\nruns.\nEach failed rule addition therefore leaks one flowtable reference\nand the flowtable can no longer be removed: NFT_MSG_DELFLOWTABLE\nkeeps reporting -EBUSY even though no rule references it.\nSave the nf_ct_netns_get() return value and undo the nft_use_inc()\nwhen it fails, restoring the inc/dec pairing within\nnft_flow_offload_init() itself.", "A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem. In the flow offload component, an error handling failure during rule initialization fails to release an incremented flow table reference count. A local user with network administration privileges can exploit this by triggering failed rule additions, resulting in leaked references. Consequently, affected flow tables cannot be removed, leading to a local Denial of Service (DoS)."], "name": "CVE-2026-98851", "package_state": [{"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:10", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:6", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:7", "fix_state": "Not affected", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:8", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/o:redhat:enterprise_linux:9", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "kernel-rt", "product_name": "Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-8", "product_name": "Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4"}, {"cpe": "cpe:/a:redhat:openshift:4", "fix_state": "Fix deferred", "package_name": "openshift/ose-rhel-coreos-9", "product_name": "Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4"}], "public_date": "2026-10-18T00:00:00Z", "references": ["https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98851\nhttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98851\nhttps://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98851.mbox"], "threat_severity": "Low"}