Bug 2516717 (CVE-2026-72255)

Summary: CVE-2026-72255 kernel: netfilter: nf_queue: pin bridge device while NFQUEUE holds fake dst
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
Status: NEW --- QA Contact:
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Priority: high    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's netfilter component, specifically within the `nf_queue` functionality. When a bridged packet is queued to NFQUEUE, it can retain a reference to a bridge's private fake destination ('dst') even after the bridge teardown has begun. This can lead to a use-after-free vulnerability, where memory is accessed after it has been deallocated, potentially causing system instability or a denial of service.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 06:27:25 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: nf_queue: pin bridge device while NFQUEUE holds fake dst

The br_netfilter fake rtable is embedded in struct net_bridge and is
attached to bridged packets with skb_dst_set_noref(). If such a packet is
queued to NFQUEUE, __nf_queue() upgrades that fake dst with
skb_dst_force().

At that point the queued skb can hold a real dst reference after bridge
teardown has started. The problem is not that every bridged packet needs
its own dst reference. The problem is that NFQUEUE can keep the bridge
private fake dst alive after unregister begins.

Fix this by keeping the bridge fake dst model unchanged and pinning the
bridge master device only while the packet sits in NFQUEUE. Record the
bridge device in nf_queue_entry when the queued skb carries a bridge fake
dst, take a device reference for the queue lifetime, and drop it when the
queue entry is freed.

Also make sure queued entries are reaped when that bridge device goes
down, and drop the redundant nf_bridge_info_exists() test from the fake
dst detection.

This keeps netdev_priv(br->dev) alive until verdict completion, so the
embedded fake rtable and its metrics backing storage cannot be freed out
from under dst_release(). It also avoids the constant refcount bump and
avoids using ipv4-specific dst helpers for IPv6 bridge traffic.