CVE-2026-72434

Local privilege escalation via requeued ipset garbage collection

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Use-after-free in Linux netfilter ipset allows local users with CAP_NET_ADMIN to gain kernel privileges during set destruction. The mtype_gc worker unconditionally requeues delayed work after cancel_delayed_work_sync() returns, so freed ip_set and hash structures are later dereferenced. The path requires local NFNETLINK ipset access; user and network namespaces can supply the needed capability, and successful exploitation can expose or corrupt kernel memory or crash the host.

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

What happened

Use-after-free in Linux netfilter ipset allows local users with CAP_NET_ADMIN to gain kernel privileges during set destruction. The mtype_gc worker unconditionally requeues delayed work after cancel_delayed_work_sync() returns, so freed ip_set and hash structures are later dereferenced. The path requires local NFNETLINK ipset access; user and network namespaces can supply the needed capability, and successful exploitation can expose or corrupt kernel memory or crash the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72434
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-821, CWE-362, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=5.4.24 <5.5
  2. Affected versionversion=5.5.8 <5.6
  3. Affected versionversion=5.6
  4. Affected versionversion=5dd9488ae41070b69d2f4acb580f77db5705f9ca
  5. Affected versionversion=a469bab3386aebff33c59506f3a95e35b91118fd
  6. Affected versionversion=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <12088da6add5b003657c8506c5b0fcef835083b8
  7. Affected versionversion=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <4a597a87e2e2f608edb6be2c510dc826b4fdfb53
  8. Affected versionversion=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <c78bd5195a5998094a5866df702fbeafda60dafb
  9. Affected versionversion=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <c940d1b96248c3081b664ede5418078bdc7c8c07

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.4.24 <5.5; version=5.5.8 <5.6; version=5.6; version=5dd9488ae41070b69d2f4acb580f77db5705f9ca; version=a469bab3386aebff33c59506f3a95e35b91118fd; version=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <12088da6add5b003657c8506c5b0fcef835083b8; version=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <4a597a87e2e2f608edb6be2c510dc826b4fdfb53; version=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <c78bd5195a5998094a5866df702fbeafda60dafb; version=f66ee0410b1c3481ee75e5db9b34547b4d582465 <c940d1b96248c3081b664ede5418078bdc7c8c07

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
7.8Canonical UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-821Incorrect Synchronization
CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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