CVE-2026-74492 PUBLISHED

netfilter: ipset: do not update comments from kernel-side hash adds

Assigner: Linux
Reserved: 15.08.2026 Published: 15.08.2026 Updated: 15.08.2026

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

netfilter: ipset: do not update comments from kernel-side hash adds

mtype_resize() copies comment pointers with memcpy(), not the comment objects themselves. During the window after an entry has been copied but before the table swap and backlog replay, the old table is still published for packet-side updates while the replacement-table entry already holds the same ip_set_comment_rcu pointer.

If xt_SET --add-set ... --exist hits that old entry in this window, mtype_add() calls ip_set_init_comment() even though packet-side adds carry no comment payload. That call frees the shared comment through the old entry, so the replacement-table entry now holds a stale pointer. When the queued add is replayed on the new table, mtype_add() calls ip_set_init_comment() again and strlen() dereferences the stale pointer.

Fix this in mtype_add() by skipping ip_set_init_comment() when ext->target marks a packet-side add. Userspace adds still update comments, while packet-side adds can no longer free comment storage shared with a resize copy.

Product Status

Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: unaffected
  • affected from f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 to 661ff9c0cfbe07f8eed920dde9f7781491738207 (excl.)
  • affected from f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 to c710e9bf38e4e71a8db85d26a0f70c0674664207 (excl.)
  • affected from f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 to 4ae701848e4ba9e9713375fb7d82218cbd309da2 (excl.)
  • affected from f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 to 77dbb248a5cc7a5270cd37bbb0b635bf059a872a (excl.)
  • affected from f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 to f30415929be8aeb002d557c8d3f7ab2d2188003a (excl.)
  • Version 5dd9488ae41070b69d2f4acb580f77db5705f9ca is affected
  • Version a469bab3386aebff33c59506f3a95e35b91118fd is affected
  • affected from 5.4.24 to 5.5 (excl.)
  • affected from 5.5.8 to 5.6 (excl.)
Vendor Linux
Product Linux
Versions Default: affected
  • Version 5.6 is affected
  • unaffected from 0 to 5.6 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 6.6.151 to 6.6.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.12.103 to 6.12.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 6.18.44 to 6.18.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.1.8 to 7.1.* (incl.)
  • unaffected from 7.2-rc6 to * (incl.)

References