CVE-2026-68138Public exploit

Local privilege escalation via unlocked rate-table updates

Published Aug 10, 2026 · Updated Aug 10, 2026

Race condition in the network scheduler in Linux allows local users to gain root privileges through concurrent filter requests. The qdisc_get_rtab and qdisc_put_rtab paths update the global qdisc_rtab_list and its non-atomic reference count without locking when flower filters bypass RTNL serialization. A local user with namespace-scoped CAP_NET_ADMIN can race matching police rate-table requests, corrupt kernel heap state, gain root privileges, or crash the system.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in the network scheduler in Linux allows local users to gain root privileges through concurrent filter requests. The qdisc_get_rtab and qdisc_put_rtab paths update the global qdisc_rtab_list and its non-atomic reference count without locking when flower filters bypass RTNL serialization. A local user with namespace-scoped CAP_NET_ADMIN can race matching police rate-table requests, corrupt kernel heap state, gain root privileges, or crash the system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-68138
Published
Aug 10, 2026
Updated
Aug 10, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-364, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 10, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 10, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66 <f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047
  2. Affected versionversion=470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66 <fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d
  3. Affected versionversion=5.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66 <f43ee0c0730d6191629b5ee1ceae27b1ebfdc047; version=470502de5bdb1ed0def643a4458593a40b8f6b66 <fb29e1b41052488ee3f2d115d4a870497ebd7f7d; version=5.1

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux CVE TeamCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-364Signal Handler Race Condition
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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