# CVE-2026-72349: netfilter: xt_rateest: fix u64 truncation in xt_rateest_mt()

> An integer truncation bug in the Linux kernel netfilter rate estimator causes incorrect rate comparisons on high-speed links, potentially bypassing rate limiting rules.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72349, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72349, GHSA-5288-9525-rfgm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72349

## What is CVE-2026-72349?

CVE-2026-72349 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

netfilter: xt_rateest: fix u64 truncation in xt_rateest_mt()

On links faster than ~34 Gbps, where byte rate may exceed 2^32-1
(~ 4.3 GBps), the comparison result becomes incorrect because the
truncated value no longer reflects the actual estimator rate.

Fix by changing the local variables to u64.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72349?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72349?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72349 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72349 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72349 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72349 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72349 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-72349/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72349/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72349
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72349
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72349

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72349/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.