Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2 cls_route net/sched/cls_route.c route4_change memory leak

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4.7	$0-$5k	0.16+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. It has been declared as problematic. This issue affects the function route4_change of the file net/sched/cls_route.c of the component cls_route. Such manipulation leads to memory leak. This vulnerability is referenced as CVE-2026-97959. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. No exploit is available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. Affected by this issue is the function route4_change of the file net/sched/cls_route.c of the component cls_route. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. Impacted is availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: cls_route: free emptied bucket on filter move route4_change can move an existing filter to a different top-level bucket: route4_set_parms recomputes the handle from TCA_ROUTE4_TO/ FROM/IIF, and the handle-mismatch check is gated on the 'new' flag, so for an existing filter the new handle may differ from the old one and land in a different bucket. When this happens, the filter is unlinked from the old bucket, but the bucket itself is never freed once it goes empty. The stale empty bucket remains in head->table[], causing route4_delete to report *last=false even after the last live filter is gone. That pins the empty tcf_proto and causes a leak. Fix this by refcounting the filters linked to a bucket and freeing the bucket when the count drops to zero. The existing scan in route4_delete goes away with it. The count is updated at all sites that link or unlink a filter during add, change and delete, and the bucket is dropped from head->table[] as soon as it reaches zero. Conditions to recreate the bug: CONFIG_NET_CLS_ROUTE4=y, CONFIG_NET_SCH_INGRESS=y, CONFIG_NET_CLS_ACT=y. tc qdisc replace dev lo clsact tc filter add dev lo ingress protocol ip pref 100 route from 1 to 1 tc filter change dev lo ingress protocol ip pref 100 handle 0x10001 \ route from 1 to 2 tc filter del dev lo ingress protocol ip pref 100 handle 0x10002 \ route from 1 to 2 tc filter show dev lo ingress | grep -c 'pref 100 route chain 0 '

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-97959 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. The exploitation requires an enhanced level of successful authentication. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. This vulnerability is assigned to T1499 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

Upgrading to version 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 2e2f130951d34871b0643bf700164d97cff4b427/f8495d67434e1cb7e511297687ca55fdb28e4c20/81dd117c04422c6d0c7974aba9fa6a0ba370959b/1853f30cf5c84971f99788a76207c6f745380896 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.110
• 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
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
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CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
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CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 4.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 4.7

VulDB Base Score: 4.9
VulDB Temp Score: 4.7
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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

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

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

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

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Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.12.111/6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3
Patch: 2e2f130951d34871b0643bf700164d97cff4b427/f8495d67434e1cb7e511297687ca55fdb28e4c20/81dd117c04422c6d0c7974aba9fa6a0ba370959b/1853f30cf5c84971f99788a76207c6f745380896

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/25/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97959 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97959
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-410150

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 15:07
Changes: 09/25/2026 15:07 (60)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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