CVE-2026-99201

Full vulnerability record from the local CVENow database.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlink: avoid hashing the network namespace pointer The netlink rhashtable key includes a raw struct net pointer and a user-controlled port ID. Both /proc/net/netlink and socket diagnostics expose the table's bucket order. By binding and rebinding chosen NETLINK_USERSOCK port IDs, an unprivileged reader can distinguish equal buckets and recover the low bits of the Jenkins hash. Its 32-bit seed and the limited set of kernel-image slides can then be searched offline to recover the address of init_net. Use the namespace's unique, non-address net_cookie in the comparison key instead. It is assigned before the per-net initializers run and remains unchanged for the namespace's lifetime. The lookup key and object hash are still built by netlink_compare_arg_init(), keeping lookup, insertion, removal and rehashing consistent while preserving namespace separation. Neither public table walker needs to change. Reading the socket's namespace cookie in netlink_compare() is safe under RCU, including during namespace teardown. netlink_release() removes the socket from the hash table and defers its final put with call_rcu(). cleanup_net() runs the per-net exit methods and waits for outstanding RCU callbacks with rcu_barrier() before freeing namespace storage. Unlike ns.ns_id, net_cookie is also available and initialized during setup_net() in older stable kernels, making the change straightforward to backport to v5.15 and later.

Severity

Not scored

CVSS score

Not available

Vulnerability status

Received

Source identifier

416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Published

2026-10-28 11:17:41.250000

Last modified

2026-10-28 11:17:41.250000

View original CVE JSON

{
  "id": "CVE-2026-99201",
  "sourceIdentifier": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
  "published": "2026-10-28T11:17:41.250",
  "lastModified": "2026-10-28T11:17:41.250",
  "vulnStatus": "Received",
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnetlink: avoid hashing the network namespace pointer\n\nThe netlink rhashtable key includes a raw struct net pointer and a\nuser-controlled port ID. Both /proc/net/netlink and socket diagnostics\nexpose the table's bucket order. By binding and rebinding chosen\nNETLINK_USERSOCK port IDs, an unprivileged reader can distinguish equal\nbuckets and recover the low bits of the Jenkins hash. Its 32-bit seed\nand the limited set of kernel-image slides can then be searched offline\nto recover the address of init_net.\n\nUse the namespace's unique, non-address net_cookie in the comparison\nkey instead. It is assigned before the per-net initializers run and\nremains unchanged for the namespace's lifetime. The lookup key and\nobject hash are still built by netlink_compare_arg_init(), keeping\nlookup, insertion, removal and rehashing consistent while preserving\nnamespace separation. Neither public table walker needs to change.\n\nReading the socket's namespace cookie in netlink_compare() is safe\nunder RCU, including during namespace teardown. netlink_release()\nremoves the socket from the hash table and defers its final put with\ncall_rcu(). cleanup_net() runs the per-net exit methods and waits for\noutstanding RCU callbacks with rcu_barrier() before freeing namespace\nstorage.\n\nUnlike ns.ns_id, net_cookie is also available and initialized during\nsetup_net() in older stable kernels, making the change straightforward\nto backport to v5.15 and later."
    }
  ],
  "affected": [
    {
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67",
      "affectedData": [
        {
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "product": "Linux",
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/netlink/af_netlink.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "c428ecd1a21f1457ca3beb4df71b8a079c410e41",
              "lessThan": "bdd55b8a8acbf6b4840ab420eb6a63774bf4593b",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "c428ecd1a21f1457ca3beb4df71b8a079c410e41",
              "lessThan": "078deff25f8a849ecd1c3fe17b1e473b1cf44f28",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "c428ecd1a21f1457ca3beb4df71b8a079c410e41",
              "lessThan": "f88bb3606e4bd11ee035b682cddc2999e604609a",
              "versionType": "git",
              "status": "affected"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "vendor": "Linux",
          "product": "Linux",
          "defaultStatus": "affected",
          "programFiles": [
            "net/netlink/af_netlink.c"
          ],
          "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git",
          "versions": [
            {
              "version": "4.1",
              "status": "affected"
            },
            {
              "version": "0",
              "lessThan": "4.1",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "6.18.59",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "7.2.13",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "7.2.*",
              "versionType": "semver",
              "status": "unaffected"
            },
            {
              "version": "7.3",
              "lessThanOrEqual": "*",
              "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix",
              "status": "unaffected"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "metrics": {},
  "references": [
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/078deff25f8a849ecd1c3fe17b1e473b1cf44f28",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bdd55b8a8acbf6b4840ab420eb6a63774bf4593b",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
    },
    {
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f88bb3606e4bd11ee035b682cddc2999e604609a",
      "source": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67"
    }
  ]
}