Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52 nf_conntrack_expect dir uninitialized pointer

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.
2.6	$0-$5k	1.64+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as problematic has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52. The affected element is an unknown function of the component nf_conntrack_expect. The manipulation of the argument dir leads to uninitialized pointer. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-98873. The attack can be initiated remotely. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52 and classified as problematic. This issue affects some unknown functionality of the component nf_conntrack_expect. The manipulation of the argument dir with an unknown input leads to a uninitialized pointer vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-824. The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. Impacted is confidentiality. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: zero at allocation time There are occasional LLM hints wrt. leaking uninitialized data to userspace via ctnetlink. Just zero at allocation time, expectations are not frequently used these days. Intentionally keeps _init as-is because we could theoretically support re-init, so add the missing exp->dir there.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-98873 since 09/25/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. The exploitation needs additional levels of successful authentication. 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 10/23/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111 or 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 39cb6ff947c16a576ea68c5f272e634acdcb0085/90545aa07a183887e9d72ce573c18e08f62e2c91/9c11d7ea5ff4dbe162e79f00188814ef5483c295/b7f3ee925aee9f1f547d539bc03c35433c238958/824397af7bfe14edad374c64253dae0187ca623d/a39ecb856514274c80d0fac4d128dba6b266a8ed/241ccd2fed9051db443aadce248fc0ab30f55e97 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.270
• 5.15.221
• 6.1.188
• 6.6.157
• 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

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: 2.7
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 2.6

VulDB Base Score: 2.7
VulDB Temp Score: 2.6
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 pointer
CWE: CWE-824 / CWE-908
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 5.10.271/5.15.222/6.1.189/6.6.158/6.12.111/6.18.53
Patch: 39cb6ff947c16a576ea68c5f272e634acdcb0085/90545aa07a183887e9d72ce573c18e08f62e2c91/9c11d7ea5ff4dbe162e79f00188814ef5483c295/b7f3ee925aee9f1f547d539bc03c35433c238958/824397af7bfe14edad374c64253dae0187ca623d/a39ecb856514274c80d0fac4d128dba6b266a8ed/241ccd2fed9051db443aadce248fc0ab30f55e97

Timelineinfo

09/25/2026 CVE reserved
10/23/2026 +28 days Advisory disclosed
10/23/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/23/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-98873 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-98873
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-425651

Entryinfo

Created: 10/23/2026 14:10
Changes: 10/23/2026 14:10 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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