Exploited Recently addedHunt for compromise (CISA)

CVE-2026-53266

Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Vulnerability

At a glance

Exploited. Added to CISA’s catalog of exploited vulnerabilities on September 18, 2026.

CISA asks you to hunt for signs of compromise: patching is not enough if the device has already been breached.

Affected product: Linux Kernel (category Operating systems, indicative classification). Name in CISA’s catalog: Linux Kernel.

What should I do?

Apply the patches or mitigations from Linux; if none are available, stop using the product. Start with internet-facing devices.

CISA also asks you to hunt for signs of compromise: patching is not enough if the device has already been breached.

Deadline set by CISA for US federal agencies: 3 days (due September 21, 2026). It only binds those agencies, but it is a useful measure of urgency.

Linux security advisories page (general page, not the advisory for this vulnerability)
The vendor’s specific advisory is listed in the NVD references: CVE-2026-53266 on the NVD website.

Original text of the required action (CISA)

Apply mitigations in accordance with vendor instructions, ensuring compliance with CISA's BOD 26-04 Prioritizing Security Updates Based on Risk (see URL in Notes) guidance and CISA's "Forensics Triage Requirements" (see URL in Notes). Follow applicable BOD 26-04 guidance for cloud services or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Stakeholders are responsible for evaluating each asset's internet exposure and ensuring adherence to BOD 26-04 patching guidelines.

Timeline

June 25, 2026 Vulnerability published Publication date (NVD)
September 18, 2026 Exploitation confirmed Added to CISA’s KEV catalog
September 21, 2026 CISA deadline Remediation deadline set for US federal agencies

The facts, with their sources

Exploitation confirmed: Yes, on September 18, 2026 Date added to the catalog of exploited vulnerabilities. Exploitation itself may have started earlier. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Ransomware: No known use to date That does not guarantee it is not being used: the information is not public. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Hunt for compromise: Requested by CISA Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA required action: Apply the patches or mitigations from Linux; if none are available, stop using the product. Start with internet-facing devices. Rewritten by this site from CISA’s original text. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CISA deadline: September 21, 2026, 3 days Set for US federal agencies: a measure of urgency, not an obligation elsewhere. Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
Vulnerability published: June 25, 2026 Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC
Product according to CISA: Linux Kernel Filed by this site under “Operating systems” (indicative classification). Source: KEV catalog, collected September 29, 2026 at 14:57 UTC
CVSS vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Technical detail of the score: attack vector, complexity, impact. Source: National Vulnerability Database (NVD), collected September 29, 2026 at 15:00 UTC

Severity and activity

8.8 / 10 CVSS severity: high

Score from the vendor or CISA, relayed by the NVD. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

— Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS)

FIRST’s EPSS model. Since exploitation is already confirmed, this figure is mostly useful to compare activity. Collected Sep 29, 2026.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable The ebtables SNAT target keeps the Ethernet source address rewrite behind skb_ensure_writable(skb, 0). This is intentional: at the bridge ebtables hooks the Ethernet header is addressed through skb_mac_header()/eth_hdr(), while skb->data points at the Ethernet payload. Asking skb_ensure_writable() for ETH_HLEN bytes would check the payload, not the Ethernet header, and would reintroduce the small packet regression fixed by commit 63137bc5882a. However, the optional ARP sender hardware address rewrite is different. It writes through skb_store_bits() at an offset relative to skb->data: skb_store_bits(skb, sizeof(struct arphdr), info->mac, ETH_ALEN) skb_header_pointer() only safely reads the ARP header; it does not make the later sender hardware address range writable. If that range is still held in a nonlinear skb fragment backed by a splice-imported file page, skb_store_bits() maps the frag page and copies the new MAC address directly into it. Ensure the ARP SHA range is writable before reading the ARP header and before calling skb_store_bits().

Linux Kernel contains an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the ebtables SNAT target which allows an ARP sender hardware address rewrite to write directly into a nonlinear socket-buffer fragment backed by a splice-imported file page. The impacted product(s) could be end-of-life (EoL) and/or end-of-service (EoS). Users are advised to discontinue use and/or transition to a supported version.

Summary from CISA (KEV catalog).

CERT-FR advisories

CERTFR-2026-AVI-1203: Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu (updated September 18, 2026)
CERTFR-2026-AVI-1229: Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux d'Ubuntu (updated September 25, 2026)
CERTFR-2026-AVI-1230: Multiples vulnérabilités dans le noyau Linux de Red Hat (updated September 25, 2026)

Information reused under the Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab); the date of last update is shown for each advisory. This site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by ANSSI.

Sources for this page

CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, required action, deadline, ransomware.
NVD (NIST): CVSS severity, publication date, description, vendor references.
EPSS (FIRST): probability of exploitation.
CERT-FR: advisories and alerts (in French).
Brand and category: indicative classification by this site (method).