# CVE-2024-36286: netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: acquire rcu_read_lock() in instance_destroy_rcu()

> A missing RCU lock in the Linux kernel netfilter module can lead to a race condition, potentially causing a system crash or denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 21 Jun 2024
- **Updated:** 15 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2024-36286, DEBIAN-CVE-2024-36286, GHSA-vgqm-wj47-2wp5, UBUNTU-CVE-2024-36286

## What is CVE-2024-36286?

CVE-2024-36286 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

netfilter: nfnetlink_queue: acquire rcu_read_lock() in instance_destroy_rcu()

syzbot reported that nf_reinject() could be called without rcu_read_lock() :

WARNING: suspicious RCU usage
6.9.0-rc7-syzkaller-02060-g5c1672705a1a #0 Not tainted

net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:263 suspicious rcu_dereference_check() usage!

other info that might help us debug this:

rcu_scheduler_active = 2, debug_locks = 1
2 locks held by syz-executor.4/13427:
  #0: ffffffff8e334f60 (rcu_callback){....}-{0:0}, at: rcu_lock_acquire include/linux/rcupdate.h:329 [inline]
  #0: ffffffff8e334f60 (rcu_callback){....}-{0:0}, at: rcu_do_batch kernel/rcu/tree.c:2190 [inline]
  #0: ffffffff8e334f60 (rcu_callback){....}-{0:0}, at: rcu_core+0xa86/0x1830 kernel/rcu/tree.c:2471
  #1: ffff88801ca92958 (&inst->lock){+.-.}-{2:2}, at: spin_lock_bh include/linux/spinlock.h:356 [inline]
  #1: ffff88801ca92958 (&inst->lock){+.-.}-{2:2}, at: nfqnl_flush net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:405 [inline]
  #1: ffff88801ca92958 (&inst->lock){+.-.}-{2:2}, at: instance_destroy_rcu+0x30/0x220 net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:172

stack backtrace:
CPU: 0 PID: 13427 Comm: syz-executor.4 Not tainted 6.9.0-rc7-syzkaller-02060-g5c1672705a1a #0
Hardware name: Google Google Compute Engine/Google Compute Engine, BIOS Google 04/02/2024
Call Trace:
 <IRQ>
  __dump_stack lib/dump_stack.c:88 [inline]
  dump_stack_lvl+0x241/0x360 lib/dump_stack.c:114
  lockdep_rcu_suspicious+0x221/0x340 kernel/locking/lockdep.c:6712
  nf_reinject net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:323 [inline]
  nfqnl_reinject+0x6ec/0x1120 net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:397
  nfqnl_flush net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:410 [inline]
  instance_destroy_rcu+0x1ae/0x220 net/netfilter/nfnetlink_queue.c:172
  rcu_do_batch kernel/rcu/tree.c:2196 [inline]
  rcu_core+0xafd/0x1830 kernel/rcu/tree.c:2471
  handle_softirqs+0x2d6/0x990 kernel/softirq.c:554
  __do_softirq kernel/softirq.c:588 [inline]
  invoke_softirq kernel/softirq.c:428 [inline]
  __irq_exit_rcu+0xf4/0x1c0 kernel/softirq.c:637
  irq_exit_rcu+0x9/0x30 kernel/softirq.c:649
  instr_sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1043 [inline]
  sysvec_apic_timer_interrupt+0xa6/0xc0 arch/x86/kernel/apic/apic.c:1043
 </IRQ>
 <TASK>

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2024-36286?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2024-36286?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2024-36286 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-36286 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2024-36286 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2024-36286 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 21 Jun 2024. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2024-36286 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36286/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36286/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2024-36286
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-36286
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2024-36286

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-36286/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.