CVE-2023-52924: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: don't skip expired elements during walk There is an asymmetry betwee

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: don't skip expired elements during walk There is an asymmetry betwee

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nf_tables: don't skip expired elements during walk There is an asymmetry between commit/abort and preparation phase if the following conditions are met: 1. set is a verdict map ("1.2.3.4 : jump foo") 2. timeouts are enabled In this case, following sequence is problematic: 1. element E in set S refers to chain C 2. userspace requests removal of set S 3. kernel does a set walk to decrement chain->use count for all elements from preparation phase 4. kernel does another set walk to remove elements from the commit phase (or another walk to do a chain->use increment for all elements from abort phase) If E has already expired in 1), it will be ignored during list walk, so its use count won't have been changed. Then, when set is culled, ->destroy callback will zap the element via nf_tables_set_elem_destroy(), but this function is only safe for elements that have been deactivated earlier from the preparation phase: lack of earlier deactivate removes the element but leaks the chain use count, which results in a WARN splat when the chain gets removed later, plus a leak of the nft_chain structure.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.21%, higher than 10% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored October 29, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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