Critical severity · published Jun 24, 2026
CVE-2026-52986
netfilter: nf_conntrack_sip: don't use simple_strtoul
9.8
CVSS
0.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_conntrack_sip: don't use simple_strtoul
Replace unsafe port parsing in epaddr_len(), ct_sip_parse_header_uri(),
and ct_sip_parse_request() with a new sip_parse_port() helper that
validates each digit against the buffer limit, eliminating the use of
simple_strtoul() which assumes NUL-terminated strings.
The previous code dereferenced pointers without bounds checks after
sip_parse_addr() and relied on simple_strtoul() on non-NUL-terminated
skb data. A port that reaches the buffer limit without a trailing
character is also rejected as malformed.
Also get rid of all simple_strtoul() usage in conntrack, prefer a
stricter version instead. There are intentional changes:
- Bail out if number is > UINT_MAX and indicate a failure, same for
too long sequences.
While we do accept 05535 as port 5535, we will not accept e.g.
'sip:10.0.0.1:005060'. While its syntactically valid under RFC 3261,
we should restrict this to not waste cycles when presented with
malformed packets with 64k '0' characters.
- Force base 10 in ct_sip_parse_numerical_param(). This is used to fetch
'expire=' and 'rports='; both are expected to use base-10.
- In nf_nat_sip.c, only accept the parsed value if its within the 1k-64k
range.
- epaddr_len now returns 0 if the port is invalid, as it already does
for invalid ip addresses. This is intentional. nf_conntrack_sip
performs lots of guesswork to find the right parts of the message
to parse. Being stricter could break existing setups.
Connection tracking helpers are designed to allow traffic to
pass, not to block it.
Based on an earlier patch from Jenny Guanni Qu <qguanni@gmail.com>.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.6% · higher than 50% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
KE
Kernel · Linux
2.6.26 before 5.10.258; 5.11 before 5.15.209; 5.16 before 6.1.175; 6.2 before 6.6.141; 6.7 before 6.12.91; 6.13 before 6.18.33; +2 more · source: NVD
LI
Linux · Linux
05e3ced297fe755093140e7487e292fb7603316e before 8cd0358379570003659186706e077929d6930c40; 05e3ced297fe755093140e7487e292fb7603316e before 9c6afcb1c3cbb2c0da65b8515ac14d7273872f84; 05e3ced297fe755093140e7487e292fb7603316e before b3264c977e79d8a25778d4fd11520f00fea1329c; 05e3ced297fe755093140e7487e292fb7603316e before ea2ecd29b8f4433e52607192ca91084f95787ca0; 05e3ced297fe755093140e7487e292fb7603316e before 9f69c323ae0ab517e595c2cc74e0ae0d9d085611; 05e3ced297fe755093140e7487e292fb7603316e before 7df9863bf538a626e8a684e59cb2c43eac0ef3c8; +3 more · source: vendor
SS
SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP · Siemens
V3.1.6; V3.1.7; V3.1.6; V3.1.7 · source: CISA
SS
SIMATIC S7-1500 CPU 1518F-4 PN/DP MFP · Siemens
V3.1.6; V3.1.7; V3.1.6; V3.1.7 · source: CISA
SS
SIPLUS S7-1500 CPU 1518-4 PN/DP MFP · Siemens
V3.1.6; V3.1.7 · source: CISA
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52986
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52986
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/523762e3b6933fff81f01dfa3c60c0774044cdab
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7df9863bf538a626e8a684e59cb2c43eac0ef3c8
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8cd0358379570003659186706e077929d6930c40
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8cf6809cddcbe301aedfc6b51bcd4944d45795f6
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c6afcb1c3cbb2c0da65b8515ac14d7273872f84
Patch
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9f69c323ae0ab517e595c2cc74e0ae0d9d085611
More from Kernel
9.8
CVE-2025-39682
tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list
8.8
CVE-2026-53266
netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable
8.8
CVE-2013-6282
Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Vulnerability
8.4
CVE-2022-0185
Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
8.4
CVE-2013-2094
Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
