Answer in brief
CVE-2026-98490 records a Critical severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in net: openvswitch: conntrack: fix helper UAF due to extensions realloc. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 9.8. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic), Linux/Linux (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <afcf362625190c5260530b1d6c7daa98831f6b83 || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <5f23080a625dd7855ab91485c8d691a54a1979f0 || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <e02a83bb0b7a203f6a22f55ad5f426765560f811 || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <1a4151e6be57b098b7a5ebfbde58585e83200cdc | afcf362625190c5260530b1d6c7daa98831f6b83, 5f23080a625dd7855ab91485c8d691a54a1979f0, e02a83bb0b7a203f6a22f55ad5f426765560f811, 1a4151e6be57b098b7a5ebfbde58585e83200cdc |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | 4.3 | Not reported |
| Linux/Linuxgeneric | >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <18866dc1f525f9ee4de7709529d1ae1af8d8e8be || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <afcf362625190c5260530b1d6c7daa98831f6b83 || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <5f23080a625dd7855ab91485c8d691a54a1979f0 || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <e02a83bb0b7a203f6a22f55ad5f426765560f811 || >=cae3a2627520c3795b54533c5328b77af3405dbe <1a4151e6be57b098b7a5ebfbde58585e83200cdc | 18866dc1f525f9ee4de7709529d1ae1af8d8e8be, afcf362625190c5260530b1d6c7daa98831f6b83, 5f23080a625dd7855ab91485c8d691a54a1979f0, e02a83bb0b7a203f6a22f55ad5f426765560f811, 1a4151e6be57b098b7a5ebfbde58585e83200cdc |
Published upstream
Oct 18, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Oct 24, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Oct 18, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: openvswitch: conntrack: fix helper UAF due to extensions realloc While calling the helpers, a raw pointer to the extensions area is wired into expectations list: -> nf_ct_helper() -> helper->help() -> nf_ct_expect_related_report() -> nf_ct_expect_insert() -> hlist_add_head_rcu(&exp->lnode, &master_help->expectations) In case the connection is not confirmed yet, more extensions can be added afterwards with *_ext_add() calls reallocating the extension space and leaving the now invalid pointer in the expectations list that is later accessed while removing the expectation. Make sure that helpers are called at the end after all the other extensions are already added. Note that the helper rejection now leaves the mark and labels set, but that's not different from how the NAT was handled before or how the mark and the labels were handled on confirmation failure. And there are no atomicity guarantees provided by the API anyway.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.