Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Network-reachable but requires the SIP helper enabled and a precisely boundary-aligned malformed packet (AC:H); impact is an out-of-bounds read (C:L) with possible instability (A:L), no integrity effect.
Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).
CVSS VectorVendor: Linux
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
5DescriptionCVE.org
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 <qguanni@gmail.com>.
AnalysisAI
Out-of-bounds memory access in the Linux kernel's netfilter SIP connection-tracking helper (nf_conntrack_sip) stems from parsing port numbers in non-NUL-terminated socket-buffer data with simple_strtoul() and dereferencing pointers after sip_parse_addr() without bounds checks. Remote attackers sending crafted SIP messages through a host where the SIP conntrack/NAT helper is active could read past the packet buffer, risking information disclosure or instability (tagged Information Disclosure). …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Exploitation requires the target Linux host to have the nf_conntrack_sip connection-tracking helper loaded and applied to the traffic path (typically VoIP gateways, SIP ALG-enabled firewalls/routers, or NAT devices handling SIP) - on systems without this helper the vulnerable code is never reached. … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | The signals conflict sharply and should temper the raw severity. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | An attacker sends a malformed SIP message - for example a request whose URI or Contact/Via field carries a port digit sequence that runs up to the edge of the packet buffer with no trailing terminator - to or through a Linux host running the nf_conntrack_sip helper (such as a VoIP gateway or SIP-ALG firewall). The unsafe simple_strtoul() parse reads past the skb payload into adjacent kernel memory, potentially disclosing data or destabilizing tracking. … |
| Remediation | Vendor-released patch: update to a fixed Linux kernel build - 7.1 or 7.0.10 on the 7.x line, 6.18.33, 6.12.91, 6.6.141, or 6.1.175 on 6.x, and 5.15.209 or 5.10.258 on the LTS 5.x lines (apply your distribution's backport carrying the equivalent commits from git.kernel.org/stable/c/8cd0358379570003659186706e077929d6930c40 and siblings). … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
Within 24 hours: Identify all Linux systems with SIP connection tracking helper modules enabled (check kernel module status and firewall configuration for nf_conntrack_sip references). …
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Same weakness CWE-476 – NULL Pointer Dereference
View allSame technique Null Pointer Dereference
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-38854
GHSA-p6jx-f9x6-6955