High · published August 22, 2026
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_flow_table: drop existing skb dst before skb_dst_set_noref()
Incoming skbs passing through netfilter flowtable offload hooks (or XFRM
offload path) might already carry a ref-counted dst_entry assigned during
earlier RX or routing steps.
Calling skb_dst_set_noref() when skb already holds a ref-counted dst
overwrites skb->_skb_refdst, leaking the previous dst_entry reference
count and triggering a DEBUG_NET_WARN_ON_ONCE assertion in
skb_dst_check_unset():
WARNING: at skb_dst_check_unset include/linux/skbuff.h:1170
WARNING: at skb_dst_set_noref include/linux/skbuff.h:1234
WARNING: at nf_flow_offload_ip_hook+0xf6c/0x2b60 net/netfilter/nf_flow_table_ip.c:864
Drop any existing dst_entry reference with skb_dst_drop(skb) before
setting the non-referenced flowtable destination.