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Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-74621

🗓️ 22 Aug 2026 00:00:00Reported by TenableType 
nessus
 nessus
🔗 www.tenable.com👁 2 Views

Unbounded sk_buff memory leak in Linux kernel act_ct when header checks reject malformed packets.

Related
Refs
Code
ReporterTitlePublishedViews
Family
cve
CVE
CVE-2026-74621
22 Aug 202615:32
cve
cvelist
Cvelist
CVE-2026-74621 net/sched: act_ct: fix sk_buff leak when the header checks reject a packet
22 Aug 202615:32
cvelist
debiancve
Debian CVE
CVE-2026-74621
22 Aug 202615:32
debiancve
euvd
EUVD
EUVD-2026-64558
22 Aug 202615:32
euvd
nvd
NVD
CVE-2026-74621
22 Aug 202616:16
nvd
osv
OSV
DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74621
22 Aug 202616:16
osv
ptsecurity
Positive Technologies
PT-2026-79626
22 Aug 202600:00
ptsecurity
redhatcve
RedhatCVE
CVE-2026-74621
24 Aug 202610:46
redhatcve
susecve
SUSE CVE
SUSE CVE-2026-74621
23 Aug 202600:05
susecve
#%NASL_MIN_LEVEL 80900
##
# (C) Tenable, Inc.
##

include('compat.inc');

if (description)
{
  script_id(338994);
  script_version("1.1");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_modification_date", value:"2026/08/22");

  script_cve_id("CVE-2026-74621");

  script_name(english:"Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-74621");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"synopsis", value:
"The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed with a vulnerability that the vendor indicates will not be
patched.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"description", value:
"The Linux/Unix host has one or more packages installed that are impacted by a vulnerability without a vendor supplied
patch available.

  - net/sched: act_ct: fix sk_buff leak when the header checks reject a packet tcf_ct_handle_fragments() runs
    its header sanity checks before handing anything to the defragmentation engine: if (family ==
    NFPROTO_IPV4) err = tcf_ct_ipv4_is_fragment(skb, &frag); else err = tcf_ct_ipv6_is_fragment(skb, &frag);
    if (err || !frag) return err; tcf_ct_ipv4_is_fragment() returns -EINVAL or -ENOMEM;
    tcf_ct_ipv6_is_fragment() adds -EPROTO when ipv6_find_hdr() fails. None of them frees or queues the skb,
    so on that path the caller still owns it. tcf_ct_act() however funnels every non-zero return into the
    ownership-transfer exit: err = tcf_ct_handle_fragments(net, skb, family, p->zone, &defrag); if (err) goto
    out_frag; ... out_frag: if (err != -EINPROGRESS) tcf_action_inc_drop_qstats(&c->common); return
    TC_ACT_CONSUMED; TC_ACT_CONSUMED means the action took ownership of the skb, so no caller frees it -
    sch_handle_ingress(), sch_handle_egress() and tcf_qevent_handle() all deliberately skip the free for that
    verdict. The skb is therefore orphaned: one sk_buff plus its data buffer is leaked per malformed packet,
    unbounded. Note the drop counter is already incremented for these errors, so the statistics claim a drop
    that never happens. Three different ownership states reach out_frag: today - the skb may be queued by the
    defrag engine (-EINPROGRESS), already freed by nf_ct_handle_fragments(), or still owned by us. Tell the
    caller which of those it is, and free the packet ourselves in the last case, which restores the
    TC_ACT_SHOT behaviour that predated the Fixes: commit. Reproduced on v7.2-rc6 with a 54-byte frame
    carrying a 40-byte IPv6 header with nexthdr = 0 (hop-by-hop) and nothing after it, on a clsact ingress
    chain with action ct. kmemleak reports one leaked 232-byte skbuff_head_cache object plus its 704-byte
    data buffer per packet; with this patch it reports none. (CVE-2026-74621)

Note that Nessus relies on the presence of the package as reported by the vendor.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"see_also", value:"https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-74621");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"solution", value:
"There is no known solution at this time.");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"agent", value:"unix");
  script_set_cvss_base_vector("CVSS2#AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P");
  script_set_cvss_temporal_vector("CVSS2#E:U/RL:U/RC:C");
  script_set_cvss3_base_vector("CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H");
  script_set_cvss3_temporal_vector("CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:U/RC:C");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cvss_score_source", value:"CVE-2026-74621");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploitability_ease", value:"No known exploits are available");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"exploit_available", value:"false");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vendor_unpatched", value:"true");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"vuln_publication_date", value:"2026/08/22");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_publication_date", value:"2026/08/22");

  script_set_attribute(attribute:"plugin_type", value:"local");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:12.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:13.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"cpe:/o:debian:debian_linux:14.0");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"cpe", value:"p-cpe:/a:debian:debian_linux:linux");
  script_set_attribute(attribute:"generated_plugin", value:"current");
  script_end_attributes();

  script_category(ACT_GATHER_INFO);
  script_family(english:"Misc.");

  script_copyright(english:"This script is Copyright (C) 2026 and is owned by Tenable, Inc. or an Affiliate thereof.");

  script_dependencies("ssh_get_info2.nasl", "set_linux_os_id.nasl");
  script_require_keys("Host/cpu", "Host/local_checks_enabled", "global_settings/vendor_unpatched", "Host/OS/identifier");
  script_require_ports("Host/OS/Debian Linux-12", "Host/OS/Debian Linux-13", "Host/OS/Debian Linux-14");

  exit(0);
}

if (!get_kb_item("global_settings/vendor_unpatched")) exit(0, "Unpatched Vulnerabilities Detection not active.");
if (!get_kb_item("Host/local_checks_enabled")) audit(AUDIT_LOCAL_CHECKS_NOT_ENABLED);
if (empty_or_null(get_one_kb_item("Host/Debian/dpkg-l"))) audit(AUDIT_PACKAGE_LIST_MISSING);

include('linux_unpatched.inc');

var distro_constraints_array = {
  "Debian Linux-12": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "12",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "btrfs-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "cdrom-core-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "ext4-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "fat-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "isofs-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "jfs-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "kernel-image-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "linux-doc"},
          {"reference": "linux-doc-6.1"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.1.0"},
          {"reference": "linux-source"},
          {"reference": "linux-source-6.1"},
          {"reference": "linux-support-6.1.0"},
          {"reference": "loop-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "nic-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "nic-shared-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "nic-wireless-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "pata-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "ppp-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "scsi-core-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "scsi-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "scsi-nic-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "serial-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "usb-serial-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"},
          {"reference": "xfs-modules-6.1.0-50-alpha-generic-di"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Debian Linux-14": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "14",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "bpftool"},
          {"reference": "hyperv-daemons"},
          {"reference": "intel-sdsi"},
          {"reference": "libcpupower-dev"},
          {"reference": "libcpupower1"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-alpha-generic"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-alpha-smp"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-amd64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-arm64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-arm64-16k"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-armmp"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-armmp-lpae"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-cloud-amd64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-cloud-arm64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-loong64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-m68k"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-parisc"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-parisc64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-powerpc"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-powerpc-smp"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-powerpc64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-powerpc64-64k"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-powerpc64le"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-powerpc64le-64k"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-riscv64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-rt-amd64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-rt-arm64"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-s390x"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-sh7751r"},
          {"reference": "linux-base-7.1.8+deb14.1-sparc64"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "Debian Linux-13": {
    "package_manager": "dpkg-l",
    "constraints": [
      {
        "release": "13",
        "pkgs": [
          {"reference": "bpftool"},
          {"reference": "hyperv-daemons"},
          {"reference": "intel-sdsi"},
          {"reference": "libcpupower-dev"},
          {"reference": "libcpupower1"},
          {"reference": "linux-bpf-dev"},
          {"reference": "linux-config-6.12"},
          {"reference": "linux-cpupower"},
          {"reference": "linux-doc"},
          {"reference": "linux-doc-6.12"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-4kc-malta"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-5kc-malta"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-4kc-malta"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-5kc-malta"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-alpha-generic"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-alpha-smp"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-amd64"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-arm64"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-arm64-16k"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-armmp"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-armmp-lpae"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-cloud-amd64"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-cloud-arm64"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-common"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-common-rt"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-loong64"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-loongson-3"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-m68k"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-mips32r2eb"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-mips32r2el"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-mips64r2eb"},
          {"reference": "linux-headers-6.12.94+deb13-mips64r2el"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
};

var distro_constraints_values = linux_unpatched::get_distro_constraints(distro_constraints_arr:distro_constraints_array);
if (empty_or_null(distro_constraints_values)) audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');

var third_party_support = get_kb_item('Host/OS/extended-third-party');
if (!empty_or_null(third_party_support)) {
    var third_party_vendors = distro_constraints_values['third_party'];
    if (!empty_or_null(third_party_vendors)) {
        var vendor;
        foreach vendor (third_party_vendors) {
            if (vendor == third_party_support) exit(0, 'A third party management patch is available for this vulnerability from ' + vendor + '.\n');
        }
    }
}

var report = linux_unpatched::check_unpatched_constraints(distro_constraints_values:distro_constraints_values);

if (!empty_or_null(report))
{
  security_report_v4(
      port       : 0,
      severity   : SECURITY_WARNING,
      extra      : report
  );
  exit(0);
}
else
{
  audit(AUDIT_HOST_NOT, 'affected');
}

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22 Aug 2026 00:00Current
5.4Medium risk
Vulners AI Score5.4
EPSS0.00209
2