CVE-2026-43114: netfilter: nft_set_pipapo_avx2: don't return non-matching entry on expiry

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-43114 is a critical (CVSS 9.4) Improper Input Validation vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.37% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 30.9% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 06-05-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 19-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: nft_set_pipapo_avx2: don't return non-matching entry on expiry New test case fails unexpectedly when avx2 matching functions are used. The test first loads a ranomly generated pipapo set with 'ipv4 . port' key, i.e. nft -f foo. This works. Then, it reloads the set after a flush: (echo flush set t s; cat foo) | nft -f - This is expected to work, because its the same set after all and it was already loaded once. But with avx2, this fails: nft reports a clashing element. The reported clash is of following form: We successfully re-inserted a . b c . d Then we try to insert a . d avx2 finds the already existing a . d, which (due to 'flush set') is marked as invalid in the new generation. It skips the element and moves to next. Due to incorrect masking, the skip-step finds the next matching element *only considering the first field*, i.e. we return the already reinserted "a . b", even though the last field is different and the entry should not have been matched. No such error is reported for the generic c implementation (no avx2) or when the last field has to use the 'nft_pipapo_avx2_lookup_slow' fallback. Bisection points to 7711f4bb4b36 ("netfilter: nft_set_pipapo: fix range overlap detection") but that fix merely uncovers this bug. Before this commit, the wrong element is returned, but erronously reported as a full, identical duplicate. The root-cause is too early return in the avx2 match functions. When we process the last field, we should continue to process data until the entire input size has been consumed to make sure no stale bits remain in the map.

• CWE-20Improper Input ValidationThe product receives input or data, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input has the properties that are required to process the data safely and correctly.
• CWE-480Use of Incorrect OperatorThe product accidentally uses the wrong operator, which changes the logic in security-relevant ways.