CVE-2026-98969

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: em_text: reject unterminated algo before autoload This is a follow-up to commit 9c572a83037a ("net/sched: fix potential stack infoleak in em_text_dump()"), which zero-initialised the dump-side struct. Sashiko pointed at a pre-existing bug that exposed the change-side input-validation gap open. em_text_change() casts the raw netlink attribute payload to struct tcf_em_text and passes conf->algo, a 16-byte array with no enforced NUL terminator, to textsearch_prepare(). On the TS_AUTOLOAD retry textsearch_prepare() calls request_module("ts_%s", algo); vsnprintf() walks %s until it finds a NUL, so an algo[] with no NUL reads past the array into the adjacent struct fields and payload and feeds those bytes to the usermode helper command line. This is an out-of-bounds read and a kernel memory disclosure. Reject the attribute when no NUL exists within TC_EM_TEXT_ALGOSIZ bytes, matching the check xt_string has had since 3ab720881b6e. Conditions to recreate the bug: - CAP_NET_ADMIN on the target netns (namespace-local via unshare -Urn is enough) - install clsact on an interface, then add a basic filter with one text ematch whose algo[] is 16 bytes with no NUL (e.g. "A"*16) and pattern_len at least 1 - the add fails with -ENOENT and the kernel invokes modprobe with a module name made of "ts_" plus the 16 bytes and the adjacent payload

At a glance

Exploit odds

0.2% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).

Fix

No patch or advisory is linked yet. Look at mitigations or restrict exposure.

Timeline

1. 2026-10-23 13:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 2026-10-30 13:21 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

• Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
• Exploit odds: 0.2% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
• Severity: not scored yet.
• Fix: none linked yet, which raises it.

Details

Published

2026-10-23 13:17 UTC

Last modified

2026-10-30 13:21 UTC

Exploit probability

0.2% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Received

Is it in your code?

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