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netfilter: conntrack: tcp: use UNACK timeout for non-closing RST packets

Exploited
No known exploitation
Fix
Fixed in 6.18.61
Who is exposed
Not reported

Do first: Upgrade to a fixed version: 6.18.61.

Published
Last modified
20/100 · provisional
None on Exploit-DB, Metasploit or GitHub

Summary

The Linux kernel's netfilter connection tracking code mishandles reset (RST) packets that do not exactly match the expected TCP sequence number, applying the short close timeout to an entry that should stay established. This can cause the tracking entry to expire early while both TCP endpoints still consider the connection open.

Written by anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5 from the sources below. Verify against them.

Read the original description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: conntrack: tcp: use UNACK timeout for non-closing RST packets

Commit be0502a3f2e9 ("netfilter: conntrack: tcp: only close if RST matches exact sequence") keeps an established conntrack entry in ESTABLISHED when an in-window RST does not match the expected sequence number exactly, so the endpoint can validate the RST with a challenge ACK.

The timeout selection nevertheless uses the CLOSE timeout for every RST packet. The bug is that timeout selection is based on the packet type, not on the state transition result: even when RST validation keeps new_state in ESTABLISHED, the timeout is still forced to TCP_CONNTRACK_CLOSE.

Linux TCP independently rate limits challenge ACKs per socket. A second non-exact RST can therefore arrive after the first challenge ACK has restored the timeout but before the rate limit expires. The second RST lowers the timeout to 10 seconds again while the endpoint suppresses the second challenge ACK, allowing the conntrack entry to expire while both TCP endpoints remain established.

Using the ESTABLISHED timeout for such RSTs would avoid this short expiration window, but it could also retain stale entries for the five-day default because conntrack cannot reliably match the endpoint's exact TCP state.

Use the UNACK timeout for RST packets that leave the conntrack entry in TCP_CONNTRACK_ESTABLISHED. Exact-match RSTs and accepted RST packet trains still fall through to timeouts[new_state], which preserves the CLOSE timeout when conntrack accepts the RST as closing the flow.

This avoids the aggressive 10-second expiration window for non-exact RSTs while preserving the short timeout for RSTs that conntrack accepts as closing the flow.

cve.now Index

20Pcve.now Index 20 of 100 · methodology v3 · provisional
  • Exploitation?/40Unknown. No CISA SSVC exploitation rating yet
  • Exposure?/25Unknown. No advisory context yet
  • Reach20/20Affects Linux kernel (software on nearly every server, desktop or phone)
  • Severity?/10Unknown. No CVSS score or vendor rating
  • No patch0/5No signal

What would change the score

  • Would score about 75 if added to CISA KEV
  • Would score about 70 if CISA's SSVC rates exploitation active
  • Would score about 42 if advisories confirm default setups are exposed

What to do

  • Upgrade to a fixed version: 6.18.61.

Timeline

  1. CVE published
  2. First seen by cve.now

Affected versions

  • Linux Linux

    fixed in 6.18.61

  • Linux Linux

    Version range not reported

Evidence 2

  1. Link
  2. Link

Corrections

None so far.

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Questions about CVE-2026-99283

Is CVE-2026-99283 being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.Source: cve.now feed data

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-99283?

Linux: before 6.18.61.Source: cve.now feed data

How do I fix CVE-2026-99283?

Upgrade to a fixed version: 6.18.61.Source: cve.now feed data