CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-53000NVD status: Modified

Linux: Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-53000 is a high-severity release of invalid pointer or reference vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions bf17f1d3b307196d9282c4b1dd8be0d0e5f8e529, ede973d62d26d9c550269af05366ab9e30fc92ee, 050f98e56782b14677c5bae50800e60775bbf6bb 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 0.18% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to bf17f1d3b307196d9282c4b1dd8be0d0e5f8e529 or ede973d62d26d9c550269af05366ab9e30fc92ee or 050f98e56782b14677c5bae50800e60775bbf6bb or 32fdd2e38e7435a368d88f5977a7d6585ebc8b0e, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.18.33 or 7.0.10, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxe2cf17d3774c323ef6dab6e9f7c0cfc5e742afd9 up to, but not including, bf17f1d3b307196d9282c4b1dd8be0d0e5f8e529; e2cf17d3774c323ef6dab6e9f7c0cfc5e742afd9 up to, but not including, ede973d62d26d9c550269af05366ab9e30fc92ee; e2cf17d3774c323ef6dab6e9f7c0cfc5e742afd9 up to, but not including, 050f98e56782b14677c5bae50800e60775bbf6bb; e2cf17d3774c323ef6dab6e9f7c0cfc5e742afd9 up to, but not including, 32fdd2e38e7435a368d88f5977a7d6585ebc8b0e; e2cf17d3774c323ef6dab6e9f7c0cfc5e742afd9 up to, but not including, 3c7511f38ab511b791196b13ae48bf4973bf7dfd; e2cf17d3774c323ef6dab6e9f7c0cfc5e742afd9 up to, but not including, 6eda0d771f94267f73f57c94630aa47e90957915; 5.14bf17f1d3b307196d9282c4b1dd8be0d0e5f8e529, ede973d62d26d9c550269af05366ab9e30fc92ee, 050f98e56782b14677c5bae50800e60775bbf6bb, 32fdd2e38e7435a368d88f5977a7d6585ebc8b0e, 3c7511f38ab511b791196b13ae48bf4973bf7dfd, 6eda0d771f94267f73f57c94630aa47e90957915
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update SupportNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update SupportNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 6Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 7Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8Not specified in the recordNot stated
LinuxLinux Kernel5.14 up to, but not including, 6.18.33; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.106.18.33, 7.0.10
Red HatEnterprise Linux9.0; 10.0Not stated

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
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

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

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.8HighCNA
CVSS 3.17.0HighCNA

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nat: use kfree_rcu to release ops Florian Westphal says: "Historically this is not an issue, even for normal base hooks: the data path doesn't use the original nf_hook_ops that are used to register the callbacks. However, in v5.14 I added the ability to dump the active netfilter hooks from userspace. This code will peek back into the nf_hook_ops that are available at the tail of the pointer-array blob used by the datapath. The nat hooks are special, because they are called indirectly from the central nat dispatcher hook. They are currently invisible to the nfnl hook dump subsystem though. But once that changes the nat ops structures have to be deferred too." Update nf_nat_register_fn() to deal with partial exposition of the hooks from error path which can be also an issue for nfnetlink_hook.

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

The underlying weakness: Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference

The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls the wrong release function or calls the appropriate release function incorrectly.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Only call matching memory management functions. Do not mix and match routines. For example, when you allocate a buffer with malloc(), dispose of the original pointer with free().
  • When programming in C++, consider using smart pointers provided by the boost library to help correctly and consistently manage memory.
  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers.

More Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference vulnerabilities (CWE-763)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference vulnerabilities

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