CVE-2026-52986
Published: June 24, 2026· Updated: Jun 28, 2026
Official Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_conntrack_sip: don't use simple_strtoul
Replace unsafe port parsing in epaddr_len(), ct_sip_parse_header_uri(),
and ct_sip_parse_request() with a new sip_parse_port() helper that
validates each digit against the buffer limit, eliminating the use of
simple_strtoul() which assumes NUL-terminated strings.
The previous code dereferenced pointers without bounds checks after
sip_parse_addr() and relied on simple_strtoul() on non-NUL-terminated
skb data. A port that reaches the buffer limit without a trailing
character is also rejected as malformed.
Also get rid of all simple_strtoul() usage in conntrack, prefer a
stricter version instead. There are intentional changes:
- Bail out if number is > UINT_MAX and indicate a failure, same for
too long sequences.
While we do accept 05535 as port 5535, we will not accept e.g.
'sip:10.0.0.1:005060'. While its syntactically valid under RFC 3261,
we should restrict this to not waste cycles when presented with
malformed packets with 64k '0' characters.
- Force base 10 in ct_sip_parse_numerical_param(). This is used to fetch
'expire=' and 'rports='; both are expected to use base-10.
- In nf_nat_sip.c, only accept the parsed value if its within the 1k-64k
range.
- epaddr_len now returns 0 if the port is invalid, as it already does
for invalid ip addresses. This is intentional. nf_conntrack_sip
performs lots of guesswork to find the right parts of the message
to parse. Being stricter could break existing setups.
Connection tracking helpers are designed to allow traffic to
pass, not to block it.
Based on an earlier patch from Jenny Guanni Qu <[email protected]>.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-52986 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.
The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 9.8.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (8)
Quick Facts
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-52986 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts