# CVE-2026-23278 — Linux

> As of 2026-08-05, CVE-2026-23278 is a HIGH-severity vulnerability in Linux, CVSS v3.1 7.8, EPSS 0.1% (5.1th percentile). Threadlinqs Intelligence links 1 tracked threat campaign to CVE-2026-23278, most recently “CVE-2026-23111: Linux Kernel nf_tables Use-After-Free Enables Local Privilege Escalation and Container Escape”.

**Last updated:** 2026-08-05

## What is CVE-2026-23278?

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: always walk all pending catchall elements During transaction processing we might have more than one catchall element: 1 live catchall element and 1 pending element that is coming as part of the new batch. If the map holding the catchall elements is also going away, its required to toggle all catchall elements and not just the first viable candidate. Otherwise, we get: WARNING: ./include/net/netfilter/nf_tables.h:1281 at nft_data_release+0xb7/0xe0 [nf_tables], CPU#2: nft/1404 RIP: 0010:nft_data_release+0xb7/0xe0 [nf_tables] [..] __nft_set_elem_destroy+0x106/0x380 [nf_tables] nf_tables_abort_release+0x348/0x8d0 [nf_tables] nf_tables_abort+0xcf2/0x3ac0 [nf_tables] nfnetlink_rcv_batch+0x9c9/0x20e0 [..]

Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw requires local access to the host, needs low-privilege credentials, needs no user interaction, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 1 affected-product entry is recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 222 days ago.

## Severity and exploitation probability

- **CVSS v3.1 base score:** 7.8 — HIGH (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **EPSS (FIRST):** 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 5.1% of all scored CVEs
- **CISA KEV:** Not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- **Threadlinqs priority:** 4.1/10 — a Threadlinqs composite of the CVSS base score, the EPSS percentile and public exploit availability
- **Published:** 2026-03-20, last modified 2026-08-05

## Is CVE-2026-23278 being exploited?

It currently carries a trending score of 6 in the Threadlinqs vulnerability feed.

## Affected products and versions

- [Linux](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/vendors/linux): Linux

## How to fix CVE-2026-23278

The record marks a vendor fix as available for CVE-2026-23278. Patch reference: [https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77c26b5056d693ffe5e9f040e946251cdb55ae55](https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77c26b5056d693ffe5e9f040e946251cdb55ae55). Apply the vendor fix referenced above to every affected product listed in this record, then confirm the running version against the vendor advisory.

## Threat activity tracking CVE-2026-23278

1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2026-23278, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.

- [CVE-2026-23111: Linux Kernel nf_tables Use-After-Free Enables Local Privilege Escalation and Container Escape](https://intel.threadlinqs.com/threat/TL-2026-0731) — HIGH · 2026-06-09

## Sources

Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, GitHub Security Advisories. Last verified by Threadlinqs on 2026-10-10. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.

**Other references**

- [git.kernel.org](https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c4d4e86fda707d89eaba80e343321737375f8582)
- [git.kernel.org (4830fb44d12f586f3f544609e086933649a9175a)](https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4830fb44d12f586f3f544609e086933649a9175a)
- [git.kernel.org (eb0948fa13298212c5f8b30ee48efdae4389ab09)](https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eb0948fa13298212c5f8b30ee48efdae4389ab09)
- [git.kernel.org (de47a88c6b807910f05703fb6605f7efdaa11417)](https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de47a88c6b807910f05703fb6605f7efdaa11417)
- [git.kernel.org (77c26b5056d693ffe5e9f040e946251cdb55ae55)](https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77c26b5056d693ffe5e9f040e946251cdb55ae55)

_Showing 5 of 6 recorded references._

Canonical: https://intel.threadlinqs.com/cve/CVE-2026-23278
Full detection coverage and IOCs for threats exploiting CVE-2026-23278 via the Threadlinqs MCP server (Purple tier): https://intel.threadlinqs.com/mcp