CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-45860NVD status: Modified

Linux: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-45860 is a high-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.5 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions a5c9e14e0e8923218ae881d5e78c990c07694966, 13eede458fdf231f1bf96a398feea4ad1553f14c, fa85432d58c8e74b39333edbf8d28df2985dfc79 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.74% chance of exploitation within 30 days, higher than 55% of scored CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to a5c9e14e0e8923218ae881d5e78c990c07694966 or 13eede458fdf231f1bf96a398feea4ad1553f14c or fa85432d58c8e74b39333edbf8d28df2985dfc79 or 0792ad077d776c2dcf20f0484e2461ded1b77a24, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.252 or 5.15.202 or 6.1.165 or 6.6.128, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxf106694733c66a48740c25bc4e212e9b2ea364ce up to, but not including, a5c9e14e0e8923218ae881d5e78c990c07694966; be69850b461e7b491d87a22e33ab76fdd04b725e up to, but not including, 13eede458fdf231f1bf96a398feea4ad1553f14c; d265929930e2ffafc744c0ae05fb70acd53be1ee up to, but not including, fa85432d58c8e74b39333edbf8d28df2985dfc79; d265929930e2ffafc744c0ae05fb70acd53be1ee up to, but not including, 0792ad077d776c2dcf20f0484e2461ded1b77a24; d265929930e2ffafc744c0ae05fb70acd53be1ee up to, but not including, 3d0994ed0aa1fc0a2c5e620b765e8defdd021bff; d265929930e2ffafc744c0ae05fb70acd53be1ee up to, but not including, 6e5fa7add3e76da068a478d905be64be8fa4e80a; d265929930e2ffafc744c0ae05fb70acd53be1ee up to, but not including, 0af0812baf2d363176c9b76fc07e33f13aede8db; d265929930e2ffafc744c0ae05fb70acd53be1ee up to, but not including, 21d033e472735ecec677f1ae46d6740b5e47a4f3; and 3 more rangesa5c9e14e0e8923218ae881d5e78c990c07694966, 13eede458fdf231f1bf96a398feea4ad1553f14c, fa85432d58c8e74b39333edbf8d28df2985dfc79, 0792ad077d776c2dcf20f0484e2461ded1b77a24, 3d0994ed0aa1fc0a2c5e620b765e8defdd021bff, 6e5fa7add3e76da068a478d905be64be8fa4e80a
LinuxLinux Kernel5.10.248 up to, but not including, 5.10.252; 5.15.198 up to, but not including, 5.15.202; 5.19 up to, but not including, 6.1.165; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.128; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.75; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.14; 6.19 up to, but not including, 6.19.45.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.14

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
NoneNo data is disclosed.
Integrity
NoneNothing can be modified.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_conncount: increase the connection clean up limit to 64 After the optimization to only perform one GC per jiffy, a new problem was introduced. If more than 8 new connections are tracked per jiffy the list won't be cleaned up fast enough possibly reaching the limit wrongly. In order to prevent this issue, only skip the GC if it was already triggered during the same jiffy and the increment is lower than the clean up limit. In addition, increase the clean up limit to 64 connections to avoid triggering GC too often and do more effective GCs. This has been tested using a HTTP server and several performance tools while having nft_connlimit/xt_connlimit or OVS limit configured. Output of slowhttptest + OVS limit at 52000 connections: slow HTTP test status on 340th second: initializing: 0 pending: 432 connected: 51998 error: 0 closed: 0 service available: YES

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption

The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Ensure that protocols have specific limits of scale placed on them.
  • Ensure that all failures in resource allocation place the system into a safe posture.

More Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerabilities (CWE-400)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: partial).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Uncontrolled Resource Consumption vulnerabilities

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