{"id":"CVE-2026-98873","state":"PUBLISHED","title":"netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: zero at allocation time","description":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnetfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: zero at allocation time\n\nThere are occasional LLM hints wrt. leaking uninitialized data to\nuserspace via ctnetlink.  Just zero at allocation time,\nexpectations are not frequently used these days.\n\nIntentionally keeps _init as-is because we could theoretically\nsupport re-init, so add the missing exp->dir there.","publishedAt":"2026-10-23T11:37:14.109Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-26T06:55:54.978Z","severity":null,"assigner":"Linux","products":["Linux Linux"],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"39cb6ff947c16a576ea68c5f272e634acdcb0085","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"90545aa07a183887e9d72ce573c18e08f62e2c91","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"9c11d7ea5ff4dbe162e79f00188814ef5483c295","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"b7f3ee925aee9f1f547d539bc03c35433c238958","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"824397af7bfe14edad374c64253dae0187ca623d","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"a39ecb856514274c80d0fac4d128dba6b266a8ed","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"241ccd2fed9051db443aadce248fc0ab30f55e97","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_expect.c","net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"3.4","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"3.4","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.271","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.222","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.189","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.158","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.111","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.53","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_expect.c","net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c"]}],"references":["https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/39cb6ff947c16a576ea68c5f272e634acdcb0085","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90545aa07a183887e9d72ce573c18e08f62e2c91","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c11d7ea5ff4dbe162e79f00188814ef5483c295","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7f3ee925aee9f1f547d539bc03c35433c238958","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/824397af7bfe14edad374c64253dae0187ca623d","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a39ecb856514274c80d0fac4d128dba6b266a8ed","https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/241ccd2fed9051db443aadce248fc0ab30f55e97"],"weaknesses":[],"ingestedAt":"2026-10-29T20:13:43.249Z","source":{"repository":"CVEProject/cvelistV5","path":"cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98873.json","commit":"556c9d3a8cd17e218bb8e452ba7cd619a384ff47"},"raw":{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-98873","state":"PUBLISHED","datePublished":"2026-10-23T11:37:14.109Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-26T06:55:54.978Z","assignerShortName":"Linux","assignerOrgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateReserved":"2026-09-25T10:25:14.377Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"title":"netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: zero at allocation time","descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnetfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: zero at allocation time\n\nThere are occasional LLM hints wrt. leaking uninitialized data to\nuserspace via ctnetlink.  Just zero at allocation time,\nexpectations are not frequently used these days.\n\nIntentionally keeps _init as-is because we could theoretically\nsupport re-init, so add the missing exp->dir there."}],"affected":[{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"unaffected","versions":[{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"39cb6ff947c16a576ea68c5f272e634acdcb0085","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"90545aa07a183887e9d72ce573c18e08f62e2c91","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"9c11d7ea5ff4dbe162e79f00188814ef5483c295","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"b7f3ee925aee9f1f547d539bc03c35433c238958","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"824397af7bfe14edad374c64253dae0187ca623d","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"a39ecb856514274c80d0fac4d128dba6b266a8ed","versionType":"git"},{"version":"076a0ca02644657b13e4af363f487ced2942e9cb","status":"affected","lessThan":"241ccd2fed9051db443aadce248fc0ab30f55e97","versionType":"git"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_expect.c","net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c"]},{"vendor":"Linux","product":"Linux","defaultStatus":"affected","versions":[{"version":"3.4","status":"affected"},{"version":"0","status":"unaffected","lessThan":"3.4","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.10.271","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.10.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"5.15.222","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"5.15.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.1.189","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.1.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.6.158","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.6.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.12.111","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.12.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"6.18.53","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"6.18.*","versionType":"semver"},{"version":"7.2","status":"unaffected","lessThanOrEqual":"*","versionType":"original_commit_for_fix"}],"repo":"https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git","programFiles":["net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_expect.c","net/netfilter/nf_conntrack_netlink.c"]}],"references":[{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/39cb6ff947c16a576ea68c5f272e634acdcb0085"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/90545aa07a183887e9d72ce573c18e08f62e2c91"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c11d7ea5ff4dbe162e79f00188814ef5483c295"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b7f3ee925aee9f1f547d539bc03c35433c238958"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/824397af7bfe14edad374c64253dae0187ca623d"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a39ecb856514274c80d0fac4d128dba6b266a8ed"},{"url":"https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/241ccd2fed9051db443aadce248fc0ab30f55e97"}],"providerMetadata":{"shortName":"Linux","orgId":"416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67","dateUpdated":"2026-10-26T06:55:54.978Z"},"cpeApplicability":[{"nodes":[{"operator":"OR","negate":false,"cpeMatch":[{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"5.10.271"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"5.15.222"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.1.189"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.6.158"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.12.111"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"6.18.53"},{"vulnerable":true,"criteria":"cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*","versionStartIncluding":"3.4","versionEndExcluding":"7.2"}]}]}],"x_generator":{"engine":"bippy-1.2.0"}}}}}