CVE-2026-23351
netfilter: nft_set_pipapo: split gc into unlink and reclaim phase
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nft_set_pipapo: split gc into unlink and reclaim phase Yiming Qian reports Use-after-free in the pipapo set type: Under a large number of expired elements, commit-time GC can run for a very long time in a non-preemptible context, triggering soft lockup warnings and RCU stall reports (local denial of service). We must split GC in an unlink and a reclaim phase. We cannot queue elements for freeing until pointers have been swapped. Expired elements are still exposed to both the packet path and userspace dumpers via the live copy of the data structure. call_rcu() does not protect us: dump operations or element lookups starting after call_rcu has fired can still observe the free'd element, unless the commit phase has made enough progress to swap the clone and live pointers before any new reader has picked up the old version. This a similar approach as done recently for the rbtree backend in commit 35f83a75529a ("netfilter: nft_set_rbtree: don't gc elements on insert").
INFO
Published Date :
March 25, 2026, 11:16 a.m.
Last Modified :
March 25, 2026, 11:16 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Affected Products
The following products are affected by CVE-2026-23351
vulnerability.
Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the
products
that
are
affected, the information is not represented in the table below.
No affected product recoded yet
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel to incorporate the fix.
- Apply the patch to split garbage collection.
- Avoid large numbers of expired elements concurrently.
- Ensure pointers are swapped before freeing elements.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-23351.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-23351 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-23351
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-23351 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-23351 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Mar. 25, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nft_set_pipapo: split gc into unlink and reclaim phase Yiming Qian reports Use-after-free in the pipapo set type: Under a large number of expired elements, commit-time GC can run for a very long time in a non-preemptible context, triggering soft lockup warnings and RCU stall reports (local denial of service). We must split GC in an unlink and a reclaim phase. We cannot queue elements for freeing until pointers have been swapped. Expired elements are still exposed to both the packet path and userspace dumpers via the live copy of the data structure. call_rcu() does not protect us: dump operations or element lookups starting after call_rcu has fired can still observe the free'd element, unless the commit phase has made enough progress to swap the clone and live pointers before any new reader has picked up the old version. This a similar approach as done recently for the rbtree backend in commit 35f83a75529a ("netfilter: nft_set_rbtree: don't gc elements on insert"). Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/16f3595c0441d87dfa005c47d8f95be213afaa9e Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/500a50a301ce962b019ab95053ac70264fec2c21 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7864c667aed01a58b87ca518a631322cd0ac34c0 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9df95785d3d8302f7c066050117b04cd3c2048c2 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aff13667708dfa0dce136b8efd81baa9fa6ef261 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c12d570d71920903a1a0468b7d13b085203d0c93