SOC status:Duty analyst on shift

UK Cyber Defence
VulnerabilityAwaiting Analysis

CVE-2026-63913

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: conntrack: tcp: do not force CLOSE on invalid-seq RST without direction check An unintended behavior in the TCP conntrack state machine allows a connection to be forced into…

HIGH 8.2EPSS 0.97%

Does this matter?

High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.97%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: conntrack: tcp: do not force CLOSE on invalid-seq RST without direction check An unintended behavior in the TCP conntrack state machine allows a connection to be forced into the CLOSE state using an RST packet with an invalid sequence number. Specifically, after a SYN packet is observed, an RST with an invalid SEQ can transition the conntrack entry to TCP_CONNTRACK_CLOSE, regardless of whether the RST corresponds to the expected reply direction. The relevant code path assumes the RST is a response to an outgoing SYN, but does not validate packet direction or ensure that a matching SYN was actually sent in the opposite direction. As a result, a crafted packet sequence consisting of a SYN followed by an invalid-sequence RST can prematurely terminate an active NAT entry. This makes connection teardown easier than intended. So, tighten the state transition logic to ensure that RST-triggered CLOSE transitions only occur when the RST is a valid response to a previously observed SYN in the correct direction.

CVSS 3.1
8.2 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H
EPSS
0.97% probability · 62th percentile
Public exploits
None in Exploit-DB
CISA KEV
Not listed
Weakness
CWE-20
Source
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
EPSS trend
0%3%5%26 October 2026: 0.97%26 October 202626 October 2026

EPSS 1.0% since 26 October 2026; no change recorded yet. Points are recorded when the score first appears and whenever it moves by a percentage point or more.

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA, exploits from Exploit-DB. Refreshed daily. Download this record as JSON.