CVE-2026-80837

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. A race condition exists in the netfilter's nf_tables subsystem when handling packet path object notifications. This can lead to a use-after-free vulnerability, allowing a local or remote attacker to send specially crafted packets, potentially causing a denial of service (DoS) on the system.

Red Hat has evaluated this vulnerability as having an impact of Important because the concurrent race condition can corrupt kernel memory structures, potentially enabling system crashes or arbitrary code execution. Exploitation requires specific firewall configurations that utilize nf_tables quota rules, where transiting network traffic coincides with netlink transaction commits. Although achieving the precise timing required to exploit this race presents high complexity, the potential for kernel-level memory corruption justifies an Important severity rating rather than Moderate.

The CVSS score(s) listed for this vulnerability do not reflect the associated product's status, and are included for informational purposes to better understand the severity of this vulnerability.

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.