High severity · published Jun 25, 2026
CVE-2026-53212
netfilter: nft_tunnel: fix use-after-free on object destroy
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nft_tunnel: fix use-after-free on object destroy nft_tunnel_obj_destroy() calls metadata_dst_free() which directly kfree()s the metadata_dst, ignoring the dst_entry refcount. Packets that took a reference via dst_hold() in nft_tunnel_obj_eval() and are still queued (e.g. in a netem qdisc) are left with a dangling pointer. When these packets are eventually dequeued, dst_release() operates on freed memory. Replace metadata_dst_free() with dst_release() so the metadata_dst is freed only after all references are dropped. The dst subsystem already handles metadata_dst cleanup in dst_destroy() when DST_METADATA is set.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 9% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
KE
Kernel · Linux
4.19 before 5.10.259; 5.11 before 5.15.210; 5.16 before 6.1.176; 6.2 before 6.6.143; 6.7 before 6.12.94; 6.13 before 6.18.36; +7 more · source: NVD
LI
Linux · Linux
af308b94a2a4a5a27bec9028354c4df444a7c8ba before 349df61526d2e39decc685d246202e3e284cfe05; af308b94a2a4a5a27bec9028354c4df444a7c8ba before 55b79b1ae42372012413ce0413181d26679b17ef; af308b94a2a4a5a27bec9028354c4df444a7c8ba before 5e9ee18b27fde88cb6148202b33916c66693fe82; af308b94a2a4a5a27bec9028354c4df444a7c8ba before 8767fe4079affa74314d7eb3220e700150289842; af308b94a2a4a5a27bec9028354c4df444a7c8ba before fda6573a46ad24f35348e024905ee5bdf729797e; af308b94a2a4a5a27bec9028354c4df444a7c8ba before 941d7394efda5e054e2d6f3e0dd0f6a9ba19aaa3; +3 more · source: vendor