CVE-2026-52920 netfilter: xt_policy: fix strict mode inbound policy matching
Incorrect strict mode matching in netfilter policy allows bypassing inbound security policies when specific configurations are used.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-52920?
CVE-2026-52920 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: xt_policy: fix strict mode inbound policy matching
match_policy_in() walks sec_path entries from the last transform to the first one, but strict policy matching needs to consume info->pol[] in the same forward order as the rule layout.
Derive the strict-match policy position from the number of transforms already consumed so that multi-element inbound rules are matched consistently.
Weakness: CWE-682
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52920?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-52920?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-52920 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52920 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-52920, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52920, GHSA-qgcc-gwgq-pq62, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-52920, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-52920, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-52920 and 2 more.