Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc2 ipvs ip_vs_conn_new uninitialized variable

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
9.5	$0-$5k	0.47

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc2 and classified as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function ip_vs_conn_new of the component ipvs. Performing a manipulation results in uninitialized variable. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-72020. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc2. It has been classified as very critical. This affects the function ip_vs_conn_new of the component ipvs. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a uninitialized variable vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-457. The code uses a variable that has not been initialized, leading to unpredictable or unintended results. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipvs: reset full ip_vs_seq structs in ip_vs_conn_new Commit 9a05475cebdd ("ipvs: avoid kmem_cache_zalloc in ip_vs_conn_new") changed ip_vs_conn_new() to allocate an ip_vs_conn object with kmem_cache_alloc(). The function then initializes many fields explicitly, but only resets in_seq.delta and out_seq.delta in the two struct ip_vs_seq members. That leaves init_seq and previous_delta uninitialized. This is normally harmless while the corresponding IP_VS_CONN_F_IN_SEQ or IP_VS_CONN_F_OUT_SEQ flag is clear. For connections learned from a sync message, however, ip_vs_proc_conn() preserves those flags from IP_VS_CONN_F_BACKUP_MASK and passes opt=NULL when the message omits IPVS_OPT_SEQ_DATA. In that case the new connection can be hashed with SEQ flags set but with the rest of in_seq/out_seq still containing stale slab data. When a packet for such a connection is later handled by an IPVS application helper, vs_fix_seq() and vs_fix_ack_seq() use previous_delta and init_seq to rewrite TCP sequence numbers. A malformed sync message can therefore make forwarded packets carry stale slab bytes in their TCP seq/ack numbers, and can also corrupt the forwarded TCP flow. Reset both struct ip_vs_seq members completely before publishing the connection. This matches the existing "reset struct ip_vs_seq" comment and keeps the sequence-adjustment gates inactive unless valid sequence data is installed later.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-72020 since 08/09/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. No form of authentication is needed for exploitation. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3bf9a260188b2a5449cbddc032a749ab433fe328/6378c5cb360eb1750f88839d7c3613ea92ac1816/32c299e28b8eea6cbbd23b97dc61401e9ef9c445/9e36602cbec552286f7e691cfd366525c565ee74/d0eed7177e822cab83141e5c44b2aa345c7fd379/83fb4c2c5344f02eac929f66de3c9d1adfcde04c/6335ab62d5fc9ed875279238233fba3462c168f5/2975324d164c552b028632f107b567302863b7f6 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.260
• 5.15.211
• 6.1.177
• 6.6.144
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
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• 6.12.90
• 6.12.91
• 6.12.92
• 6.12.93
• 6.12.94
• 6.12.95
• 6.12.96
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
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• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4
• 7.2-rc1
• 7.2-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Uninitialized variable
CWE: CWE-457 / CWE-453
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.261/5.15.212/6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc3
Patch: 3bf9a260188b2a5449cbddc032a749ab433fe328/6378c5cb360eb1750f88839d7c3613ea92ac1816/32c299e28b8eea6cbbd23b97dc61401e9ef9c445/9e36602cbec552286f7e691cfd366525c565ee74/d0eed7177e822cab83141e5c44b2aa345c7fd379/83fb4c2c5344f02eac929f66de3c9d1adfcde04c/6335ab62d5fc9ed875279238233fba3462c168f5/2975324d164c552b028632f107b567302863b7f6

Timelineinfo

08/09/2026 CVE reserved
08/15/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-72020 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72020
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390435

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 11:16
Changes: 08/15/2026 11:16 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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