Evidence-led vulnerability intelligence · 2026-10-28 16:47 IST

CVE-2026-99201

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netlink: avoid hashing the network namespace pointer The netlink rhashtable key includes a raw struct net pointer and a user-controlled port ID. Both /proc/net/netlink and socket diagnostics expose the table's bucket order. By binding and rebinding chosen NETLINK_USERSOCK port IDs, an unprivileged reader can distinguish equal buckets and recover the low bits of the Jenkins hash. Its 32-bit seed and the limited set of kernel-image slides can then be searched offline to recover the address of init_net. Use the namespace's unique, non-address net_cookie in the comparison key instead. It is assigned before the per-net initializers run and remains unchanged for the namespace's lifetime. The lookup key and object hash are still built by netlink_compare_arg_init(), keeping lookup, insertion, removal and rehashing consistent while preserving namespace separation. Neither public table walker needs to change. Reading the socket's namespace cookie in netlink_compare() is safe under RCU, including during namespace teardown. netlink_release() removes the socket from the hash table and defers its final put with call_rcu(). cleanup_net() runs the per-net exit methods and waits for outstanding RCU callbacks with rcu_barrier() before freeing namespace storage. Unlike ns.ns_id, net_cookie is also available and initialized during setup_net() in older stable kernels, making the change straightforward to backport to v5.15 and later.

Executive briefing

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Assessment: Potential exposure only — validate product, version, configuration and vendor applicability.

Evidence confidence: Not assessed Evidence-derived, not an exploitability verdict

Severity & attack characteristics

N/A / 10 · CVSS

CVSS vector:
Not supplied

No CVSS vector is currently available in the source record.

Technical explanation & impact

Technical root-cause details are not available in the current source record.

Assess the impact using the published CVSS metrics and the affected vendor component.

Affected products and versions

NVD has not supplied machine-readable vulnerable CPE product/version entries for this CVE. This is an information gap, not proof that no products are affected. Check the vendor advisory references below.

Remediation & validation

  1. Identify exposure by comparing the affected product and version ranges with your asset inventory, SBOM and externally exposed services.
  2. Review the linked vendor security advisory or patch notes. Upgrade to a vendor-confirmed fixed release; do not infer a fixed version from the CVE description.
  3. Until patched, consider restricting network access or disabling the affected feature where operationally safe. These are temporary controls, not a substitute for a vendor fix.
  4. Validate the remediation with a version check and vulnerability rescan, then retain change evidence.

No fixed version is displayed unless it is explicitly established by a vendor advisory. Follow the vendor's release notes for exact product and branch applicability.

Vendor advisories, patches & exploit references

No external references are currently supplied in the CVE record.

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