high CVSS 8.8 Actively exploited

CVE-2026-53266·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable The ebtables SNAT target keeps the Ethernet source address rewrite behind skb_ensure_writable(skb, 0). This is intentional: at the bridge ebtables hooks the Ethernet header is addressed through skb_mac_header()/eth_hdr(), while skb->data points at the Ethernet payload. Asking skb_ensure_writable() for ETH_HLEN bytes would check the payload, not the Ethernet header, and would reintroduce the small packet regression fixed by commit 63137bc5882a. However, the optional ARP sender hardware address rewrite is different. It writes through skb_store_bits() at an offset relative to skb->data: skb_store_bits(skb, sizeof(struct arphdr), info->mac, ETH_ALEN) skb_header_pointer() only safely reads the ARP header; it does not make the later sender hardware address range writable. If that range is still held in a nonlinear skb fragment backed by a splice-imported file page, skb_store_bits() maps the frag page and copies the new MAC address directly into it. Ensure the ARP SHA range is writable before reading the ARP header and before calling skb_store_bits().

Severity
high
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
7.0.13
Published
2026-06-25

Affected versions

From: 6.19

Until: 7.0.13

Fixed in: 7.0.13

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 7.0.13 or later to patch a critical memory safety issue in the netfilter bridge SNAT target's ARP rewrite functionality. This vulnerability allows local attackers with limited privileges to corrupt kernel memory through improper handling of non-linear socket buffers. Apply the kernel update immediately, especially if your system handles bridged network traffic or runs container workloads.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check kernel version: uname -r — vulnerable versions are 6.19 through 7.0.12
  2. Verify netfilter bridge SNAT is loaded: lsmod | grep ebtable_nat — if present, the vulnerable code path may be active
  3. Review network interface configuration: ip link show — check for bridge interfaces that could trigger the vulnerability
  4. Confirm patch application: cat /proc/version — should show kernel version 7.0.13 or later after update; verify with uname -r after reboot

FAQ

What is CVE-2026-53266?

This is a kernel memory safety vulnerability in the netfilter bridge SNAT (Source NAT) target that fails to properly validate writable buffer ranges when rewriting ARP sender hardware addresses. A local attacker with limited privileges can write to kernel memory through splice-imported file pages, potentially achieving privilege escalation or system compromise.

Is CVE-2026-53266 being actively exploited?

Yes — CVE-2026-53266 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, indicating active real-world exploitation. No public exploit code is currently available, but attackers are actively leveraging this vulnerability in the wild.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2026-53266?

Linux kernel versions 6.19 through 7.0.12 are vulnerable. The fix was released in kernel version 7.0.13 and backported to stable branches.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2026-53266?

Run `uname -r` to check your kernel version — if it shows 6.19 or any version between 6.20 and 7.0.12, your system is vulnerable. Additionally, check if bridge interfaces are configured with `ip link show | grep bridge`.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2026-53266?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed kernel package versions against the NVD database. If Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2026-53266 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps and severity indicators.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-100075CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/srpt: Fix srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() unwind counters When srpt_alloc_rw_ctxs() fails partway through a multi-buffer indirect descriptor, the unwind path destroys RDMA contexts but leaves stale n_rw_ctx and n_rdma values (and a dangling rw_ctxs pointer). Later sq_wr_avail accounting in srpt_queue_response() or srpt_write_pending() can then subtract the wrong number of send queue credits. Reset the counters and clear rw_ctxs after freeing the heap allocation before returning an error.
CVE-2026-64397CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: serialize QUERY_DIRECTORY requests per file smb2_query_dir() stores a pointer to its stack-allocated private data in the ksmbd_file readdir_data. Concurrent QUERY_DIRECTORY requests using the same file handle can overwrite this pointer while an iterate_dir() callback is still using it, resulting in a stack use-after-free. Add a per-file mutex and hold it while accessing the shared directory enumeration state. The lock covers scan restart, dot entry state, readdir_data setup and iteration, and response construction. This prevents another request from replacing readdir_data.private before the current request has finished using it and also serializes the shared file position.
CVE-2026-64399CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: add permission checks for FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE The FSCTL_DUPLICATE_EXTENTS_TO_FILE arm of smb2_ioctl() overwrites the destination file's data via vfs_clone_file_range() with neither the share-level KSMBD_TREE_CONN_FLAG_WRITABLE check nor a per-handle fp->daccess check that the other write-bearing arms carry. A client can overwrite destination data on a read-only share, or from a handle opened with only FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES (which still yields an FMODE_WRITE filp). FILE_WRITE_ATTRIBUTES-only destination handle overwrote the file's data via the clone. Add both checks, matching the FSCTL_SET_SPARSE permission fix; require FILE_WRITE_DATA since this writes data.
CVE-2026-64047CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: tls: fix off-by-one in sg_chain entry count for wrapped sk_msg ring When an sk_msg scatterlist ring wraps (sg.end < sg.start), tls_push_record() chains the tail portion of the ring to the head using sg_chain(). An extra entry in the sg array is reserved for this: struct sk_msg_sg { [...] /* The extra two elements: * 1) used for chaining the front and sections when the list becomes * partitioned (e.g. end < start). The crypto APIs require the * chaining; * 2) to chain tailer SG entries after the message. */ struct scatterlist data[MAX_MSG_FRAGS + 2]; The current code uses MAX_SKB_FRAGS + 1 as the ring size: sg_chain(&msg_pl->sg.data[msg_pl->sg.start], MAX_SKB_FRAGS - msg_pl->sg.start + 1, msg_pl->sg.data); This places the chain pointer at sg_chain(data[start], (MAX_SKB_FRAGS - msg_start + 1) .. = &data[start] + (MAX_SKB_FRAGS - msg_start + 1) - 1 = data[start + (MAX_SKB_FRAGS - start + 1) - 1] = data[MAX_SKB_FRAGS] instead of the true last entry. This is likely due to a "race" of the commit under Fixes landing close to commit 031097d9e079 ("bpf: sk_msg, zap ingress queue on psock down") Convert to ARRAY_SIZE and drop the data[start] / - start (as suggested by Sabrina).
CVE-2026-52924CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: sctp: purge outqueue on stale COOKIE-ECHO handling sctp_stream_update() is only invoked when the association is moved into COOKIE_WAIT during association setup/reconfiguration. In this path, the outbound stream scheduler state (stream->out_curr) is expected to be clean, since no user data should have been transmitted yet unless the state machine has already partially progressed. However, a corner case exists in sctp_sf_do_5_2_6_stale(): when a Stale Cookie ERROR is received, the association is rolled back from COOKIE_ECHOED to COOKIE_WAIT. In this scenario, user data may already have been queued and even bundled with the COOKIE-ECHO chunk. During the rollback, sctp_stream_update() frees the old stream table and installs a new one, but it does not invalidate stream->out_curr. As a result, out_curr may still point to a freed sctp_stream_out entry from the previous stream state. Later, SCTP scheduler dequeue paths (FCFS, RR, PRIO, etc.) rely on stream->out_curr->ext, which can lead to use-after-free once the old stream state has been released via sctp_stream_free(). This results in crashes such as (reported by Yuqi): BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 Read of size 8 at addr ff1100004d4d3208 by task mini_poc/9312 CPU: 1 UID: 1001 PID: 9312 Comm: mini_poc Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-00305-gbd3a4795d574 #5 PREEMPT(full) sctp_sched_fcfs_dequeue+0x13a/0x140 sctp_outq_flush+0x1603/0x33e0 sctp_do_sm+0x31c9/0x5d30 sctp_assoc_bh_rcv+0x392/0x6f0 sctp_inq_push+0x1db/0x270 sctp_rcv+0x138d/0x3c10 Fix this by fully purging the association outqueue when handling the Stale Cookie case. This ensures all pending transmit and retransmit state is dropped, and any scheduler cached pointers are invalidated, making it safe to rebuild stream state during COOKIE_WAIT restart. Updating only stream->out_curr would be insufficient, since queued and retransmittable data would still reference the old stream state and trigger later use-after-free in dequeue paths.

References

Track CVEs across your fleet automatically

Defensia scans your Linux servers and tells you exactly which ones are running vulnerable versions — including CVE-2026-53266. Free for 1 server.

Get started free