Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-52986)
Summary
Vulnerability in Linux kernel (CVE-2026-52986). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_conntrack_sip: don't use simple_strtoul
Replace unsafe port parsing in epaddr_len(), ct_sip_parse_header_uri(),
and ct_sip_parse_request() with a new sip_parse_port() helper that
validates each digit against the buffer limit, eliminating the use of
simple_strtoul() which assumes NUL-terminated strings.
The previous code dereferenced pointers without bounds checks after
sip_parse_addr() and relied on simple_strtoul() on non-NUL-terminated
skb data. A port that reaches the buffer limit without a trailing
character is also rejected as malformed.
Also get rid of all simple_strtoul() usage in conntrack, prefer a
stricter version instead. There are intentional changes:
-
Bail out if number is > UINT_MAX and indicate a failure, same for
too long sequences.
While we do accept 05535 as port 5535, we will not accept e.g.
'sip:10.0.0.1:005060'. While its syntactically valid under RFC 3261,
we should restrict this to not waste cycles when presented with
malformed packets with 64k '0' characters. -
Force base 10 in ct_sip_parse_numerical_param(). This is used to fetch
'expire=' and 'rports='; both are expected to use base-10. -
In nf_nat_sip.c, only accept the parsed value if its within the 1k-64k
range. -
epaddr_len now returns 0 if the port is invalid, as it already does
for invalid ip addresses. This is intentional. nf_conntrack_sip
performs lots of guesswork to find the right…
Source: GitHub Security Advisories (Global) NVD GitHub Advisory
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-52986 has been found in Linux kernel.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 9.8/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Linux kernel CVE-2026-52986" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-52986 (Linux kernel) — CWE-476 / CVSS v3 9.8
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / unauthenticated / no user interaction
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
A vulnerability (CWE-476) exists in Linux kernel.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Linux kernel.
Severity: Critical (CVSS 9.8/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Audit SBOM/dependencies to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
Audit SBOM/dependencies for affected components.資産台帳・SBOM・依存マニフェストで Linux kernel を使っているサービスとバージョンを洗い出す。
-
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Affected packages
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- BellSoft Alpaquita BELL-CVE-2026-52986 linux-lts Fixed in: 6.1.175-r0
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52986 linux Fixed in: 6.1.176-1
- Ubuntu UBUNTU-CVE-2026-52986 linux Fixed in: 3.13.0-215.266
References
- advisory nvd.nist.gov
- advisory github.com
- package git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web git.kernel.org
- web github.com
- web cert-portal.siemens.com
- web cert-portal.siemens.com