Local privilege escalation via cross-table SET_ID lookup
Published Jan 8, 2024 · Updated Aug 20, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux kernel 3.16-rc1 through 5.19.1 allows local users to gain root privileges through crafted nftables requests. The nft_set_lookup_byid function accepts a SET_ID from another table without checking table ownership, leaving a dangling reference after that table and its set are freed. Exploitation requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user or network namespace; an account that can create an unprivileged user namespace can obtain that capability and escalate to root.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux kernel 3.16-rc1 through 5.19.1 allows local users to gain root privileges through crafted nftables requests. The nft_set_lookup_byid function accepts a SET_ID from another table without checking table ownership, leaving a dangling reference after that table and its set are freed. Exploitation requires CAP_NET_ADMIN in a user or network namespace; an account that can create an unprivileged user namespace can obtain that capability and escalate to root.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2022-2586
- Published
- Jan 8, 2024
- Updated
- Aug 20, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jan 8, 2024CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 20, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=3.16 <4.14.316
- Affected versionversion=4.15 <4.19.256
- Affected versionversion=4.20 <5.4.211
- Affected versionversion=5.11 <5.15.61
- Affected versionversion=5.16 <5.18.18
- Affected versionversion=5.19 <5.19.2
- Affected versionversion=5.5 <5.10.137
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- N-day exploit for Linux kernel nft_object use-after-freefunctional · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Reported exploitation
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog listingknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo