What is CVE-2026-23278?

CVE-2026-23278 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 4.19.316 onward and patched in 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and others. CVE-2026-23278 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23278?

CVE-2026-23278 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23278?

Yes, CVE-2026-23278 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.19.316 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-23278 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-23278 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-23278

High

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 [..]

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-03-20

Last modified 2026-05-22

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.19.316, 5.4.262, 5.10.188, 5.15.121, 6.1.36, 6.3.10, 6.4 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9, 7.0 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 4.19.316 ≥ 5.4.262 ≥ 5.10.188 ≥ 5.15.121 ≥ 6.1.36 ≥ 6.3.10 ≥ 6.4

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.78 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.19 6.18.x ✓ 6.19.9 6.19.x ✓ 7.0

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-23278 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77c26b5056d693ffe5e9f040e946251cdb55ae55
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7cb9a23d7ae40a702577d3d8bacb7026f04ac2a9
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de47a88c6b807910f05703fb6605f7efdaa11417
Patch

4 patch commits total View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-23278

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-03-20

Modified 2026-05-22

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-23278?

CVE-2026-23278 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.19.316 onward and has been patched in 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and others. CVE-2026-23278 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-23278?

CVE-2026-23278 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-23278?

Yes — CVE-2026-23278 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.78, 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.19.316 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-23278 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2026-23278 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.