Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-72252

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nft_set_pipapo: don't leak bad clone into future transaction On memory allocation failure the cloned nft_pipapo_match can enter a bad state: - some fields can have their lookup tables resized while others did not - bits might have been toggled - scratch map can be undersized which also means m->bsize_max can be lower than what is required This means that the next insertion in the same batch can trigger out-of-bounds writes. Furthermore, a failure in the first can result in the bad clone to leak into the next transaction because the abort callback is never executed in this case (the upper layer saw an error and no attempt to allocate a transactional request was made). Record a state for the nft_pipapo_match structure: - NEW (pristine clone) - MOD (modified clone with good state) - ERR (potentially bogus content) Then make it so that deletes and insertions fail when the clone entered ERR state. In case the very first insert attempt results in an error, free the clone right away.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (6.3th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 6.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-72252: held from 0.002 to 0.002.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 5.6, 7.2, 6.18.40

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72252?
CVE-2026-72252 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2026-08-15.
How severe is CVE-2026-72252?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.