CVE-2026-43026

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ctnetlink: zero expect NAT fields when CTA_EXPECT_NAT absent ctnetlink_alloc_expect() allocates expectations from a non-zeroing slab cache via nf_ct_expect_alloc(). When CTA_EXPECT_NAT is not present in the netlink message, saved_addr and saved_proto are never initialized. Stale data from a previous slab occupant can then be dumped to userspace by ctnetlink_exp_dump_expect(), which checks these fields to decide whether to emit CTA_EXPECT_NAT. The safe sibling nf_ct_expect_init(), used by the packet path, explicitly zeroes these fields. Zero saved_addr, saved_proto and dir in the else branch, guarded by IS_ENABLED(CONFIG_NF_NAT) since these fields only exist when NAT is enabled. Confirmed by priming the expect slab with NAT-bearing expectations, freeing them, creating a new expectation without CTA_EXPECT_NAT, and observing that the ctnetlink dump emits a spurious CTA_EXPECT_NAT containing stale data from the prior allocation.

• linux linux kernel (>= 3.4 < 5.10.253) • linux linux kernel (>= 5.11 < 5.15.203) • linux linux kernel (>= 5.16 < 6.1.168) • linux linux kernel (>= 6.2 < 6.6.134) • linux linux kernel (>= 6.7 < 6.12.81) • linux linux kernel (>= 6.13 < 6.18.22) • linux linux kernel (>= 6.19 < 6.19.12) • linux linux kernel 7.0