OCTOBER 9, 2026
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Case File

CVE-2026-97609

HIGH · CVSS 7 EPSS 0.14% Public Exploit

Source: NVD + CISA KEV + EPSS · Published 2026-09-25 · Last synced 2026-10-09

CyberRota Analysis

AI-Generated

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel affects the netfilter component, specifically during the unloading of the cttimeout module, which can lead to a use-after-free condition. This flaw allows an attacker to exploit the race condition between unregistering per-net operations and dereferencing a timeout hook, potentially leading to arbitrary code execution or system instability. Organizations using Linux systems with netfilter should prioritize addressing this vulnerability to mitigate risks associated with module management and network traffic handling.

Public Exploit Signal

A public exploit, PoC, GitHub repository or Metasploit reference was detected for this CVE.

Detected Signals
poc

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CVE
CVE-2026-97609
Severity
HIGH
CVSS
7
EPSS
0.14%
Linux

Original NVD Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: cttimeout: prevent UAF during module unload nf_ct_set_timeout() protects the timeout hook dereference and policy lookup with rcu_read_lock(). cttimeout_exit(), however, unregisters the per-net operations before it clears the hook. This allows the following interleaving: CPU 0 CPU 1 cttimeout_exit() nf_ct_set_timeout() unregister_pernet_subsys() rcu_read_lock() kfree(pernet) h = nf_ct_timeout_hook h->timeout_find_get() nfct_timeout_pernet() The hook still points to ctnl_timeout_find_get() when CPU 1 looks up the already freed per-net timeout list. KASAN reported: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in ctnl_timeout_find_get Read of size 8 by task poc/90 Call Trace: ctnl_timeout_find_get+0x271/0x2a0 [nfnetlink_cttimeout] nf_ct_set_timeout+0x7b/0x3c0 xt_ct_tg_check+0x724/0xb20 xt_check_target+0x234/0xa90 do_ipt_set_ctl+0x570/0x1270 Allocated by task 89: __kmalloc_noprof+0x16e/0x460 ops_init+0x6d/0x420 register_pernet_operations+0x2f6/0x670 Freed by task 91: kfree+0x131/0x390 ops_undo_list+0x3d4/0x730 unregister_pernet_operations+0x232/0x490 unregister_pernet_subsys+0x1c/0x30 cttimeout_exit+0x52/0x970 [nfnetlink_cttimeout] Clear the hook and wait for existing readers before unregistering the per-net operations. This blocks new policy lookups and ensures readers that observed the hook finish before the per-net storage is freed.