KEVWire

Security intelligence, with context.

Response snapshot Oct 30, 2026, 17:36 UTC

Back to the wire
Permalink
VulnerabilityCVE-2026-80668

Linux kernel: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations This patch replaces the timer API by GC worker approach for expectations, as it already happened in many other subsystems.

At a glance

Exploited
Not known
Severity
9.8 Critical (CVSS 3.1)
Chance of exploitation
0.7% in the next 30 days
Sources
1 source

What to do

Check the vendor advisory for affected versions and fixes.

Read NVD CVE-2026-80668 (opens a new tab)

What happened

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations

This patch replaces the timer API by GC worker approach for expectations, as it already happened in many other subsystems.

Use the existing conntrack GC worker to iterate over the local list of expectations in the master conntrack to reap expired expectations. Check IPS_HELPER_BIT to run GC for expectations, set it on for nft_ct expectation which nevers sets it. Hold the expectation spinlock while iterating over the master conntrack expectation list to synchronize with nf_ct_remove_expectations().

Continue reading

This also performs runtime packet path garbage collection through the expectation insertion and lookup functions while walking over one of the chains of the global expectation hashtables. Unconfirmed conntrack entries are skipped since ct->ext can be reallocated and dying are skipped since those will be gone soon.

Set on IPS_HELPER_BIT if the helper ct extension is added, then the new GC worker does not need to bump the ct refcount to check if the ct->ext helper is available.

This removes the extra bump on the refcount for expectation timers, this allows to remove several nf_ct_expect_put() calls after the unlink, after this update only refcount remains at 1 while on the expectation hashes.

This patch implicitly addresses a race with the existing timer API allowing an expectation to access a stale exp->master pointer which has been already released when expectation removal loses races with an expiring timer, ie. timer_del() reporting false.

Add a new NF_CT_EXPECT_DEAD flag to reap this expectation via GC. This is needed by nf_conntrack_unexpect_related() which is called in error paths to invalidate newly created expectations that has been added into the hashes. These expectactions cannot be inmediately released as GC or nf_ct_remove_expectations() could race to make it. On expectation insert, the runtime GC reaps stale expectations before checking the expectation limit set by policy.

Set current timestamp in nf_ct_expect_alloc(), then add the expectation policy timeout (or custom timeout specified added on top of this) to specify the expectation lifetime.

Scores and how they were measured

CVSS base severity

9.8

Version 3.1As of

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Measurement source (opens a new tab)

How bad it is if exploited. Not a prediction of exploitation or proof you are exposed.

EPSS probability

0.7%

Scored Percentile 52.0%

Model and measurement source (opens a new tab)

A model's estimate of exploitation in the next 30 days, not certainty or your own risk.

Related technology

Sources

  1. Primary source

    NVD CVE-2026-80668 (opens a new tab)

    NVD record: description, CVSS (the CNA score is preferred), affected products, and publication date. Not evidence of exploitation.

    Published Checked

  2. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  3. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  4. Primary source

    NVD CVE API 2.0 (opens a new tab)

    The NVD API page that supplied this CVE record.

    Published Date not suppliedChecked

  5. Primary source

    FIRST measured EPSS score (opens a new tab)

    Measured EPSS probability and percentile for CVE-2026-80668, scored 2026-10-30. This is a model estimate, not proof of exposure.

    Published Checked

Cite this record

For factual claims, cite the primary sources above; cite KEVWire for its compilation, dates, and classifications.

APA

KEVWire. (2026, October 30). Linux kernel: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations (CVE-2026-80668). https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-80668

MLA

"Linux kernel: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations (CVE-2026-80668)." KEVWire, 30 Oct. 2026, kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-80668.

Chicago

KEVWire. "Linux kernel: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations (CVE-2026-80668)." Last modified October 30, 2026. https://kevwire.com/record/CVE-2026-80668.

Evidence summary (plain text)

Linux kernel: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations (Aug 28, 2026).
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations

This patch replaces the timer API by GC worker approach for
expectations, as it already happened in many other subsystems.

Use the existing conntrack GC worker to iterate over the local list of
expectations in the master conntrack to reap expired expectations.
Check IPS_HELPER_BIT to run GC for expectations, set it on for nft_ct
expectation which nevers sets it.
CVSS 9.8 (version 3.1; evidence as of Oct 30, 2026; https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80668).
EPSS 0.7% for the following 30 days, scored Oct 30, 2026 (https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-80668&date=2026-10-30).
Sources:
NVD CVE-2026-80668: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80668
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T13:06:45.042Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:50:57.069Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=500
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T12:22:16.957Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T14:05:57.373Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=500
NVD CVE API 2.0: https://services.nvd.nist.gov/rest/json/cves/2.0?lastModStartDate=2026-10-30T11:45:59.009Z&lastModEndDate=2026-10-30T13:20:57.281Z&resultsPerPage=500&startIndex=500
FIRST measured EPSS score: https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2026-80668&date=2026-10-30
Record ID: CVE-2026-80668.
Record origin: Ingested record.
AI evidence: Not assessed.
Known exploitation: Not assessed.
Zero-day status: Not assessed. KEV membership alone does not establish zero-day status.
About this data

This record was ingested from a data source. Retrieved: Oct 30, 2026, 14:52 UTC. Ingestion is not an independent editorial investigation.

NVD status: Received. Publication in the NVD is not evidence of exploitation.

A CISA KEV listing documents known exploitation, not necessarily a zero-day; absence from the catalog does not prove a vulnerability has never been exploited.

Technology tags indicate possible relevance, not verified exposure. Confirm the affected product, version, and configuration against your own inventory; KEVWire does not scan your systems.

A personal reading checklist on this device, not verified remediation.

Record JSON

Your account

Email alerts

Email alerts are coming as part of KEVWire Premium: join the waitlist. To follow your stack today, use its RSS feed, which honors your filters, or connect an AI agent through the API.

Suggest an improvement

Ideas, missing sources, corrections, and bugs are all welcome. No account needed. Suggestions are reviewed by a person before anything changes.

Record details

Record detail