In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: br_netfilter: skip conntrack input hook for promisc packets
For historical reasons, when bridge device is in promisc mode, packets that are directed to the taps follow bridge input hook path. This patch adds a workaround to reset conntrack for these packets.
Jianbo Liu reports warning splats in their test infrastructure where cloned packets reach the br_netfilter input hook to confirm the conntrack object.
Scratch one bit from BR_INPUT_SKB_CB to annotate that this packet has reached the input hook because it is passed up to the bridge device to reach the taps.
[ 57.571874] WARNING: CPU: 1 PID: 0 at net/bridge/br_netfilter_hooks.c:616 br_nf_local_in+0x157/0x180 [br_netfilter] [ 57.572749] Modules linked in: xt_MASQUERADE nf_conntrack_netlink nfnetlink iptable_nat xt_addrtype xt_conntrack nf_nat br_netfilter rpcsec_gss_krb5 auth_rpcgss oid_registry overlay rpcrdma rdma_ucm ib_iser libiscsi scsi_transport_isc si ib_umad rdma_cm ib_ipoib iw_cm ib_cm mlx5_ib ib_uverbs ib_core mlx5ctl mlx5_core [ 57.575158] CPU: 1 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/1 Not tainted 6.8.0+ #19 [ 57.575700] Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.13.0-0-gf21b5a4aeb02-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 [ 57.576662] RIP: 0010:br_nf_local_in+0x157/0x180 [br_netfilter] [ 57.577195] Code: fe ff ff 41 bd 04 00 00 00 be 04 00 00 00 e9 4a ff ff ff be 04 00 00 00 48 89 ef e8 f3 a9 3c e1 66 83 ad b4 00 00 00 04 eb 91 <0f> 0b e9 f1 fe ff ff 0f 0b e9 df fe ff ff 48 89 df e8 b3 53 47 e1 [ 57.578722] RSP: 0018:ffff88885f845a08 EFLAGS: 00010202 [ 57.579207] RAX: 0000000000000002 RBX: ffff88812dfe8000 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 57.579830] RDX: ffff88885f845a60 RSI: ffff8881022dc300 RDI: 0000000000000000 [ 57.580454] RBP: ffff88885f845a60 R08: 0000000000000001 R09: 0000000000000003 [ 57.581076] R10: 00000000ffff1300 R11: 0000000000000002 R12: 0000000000000000 [ 57.581695] R13: ffff8881047ffe00 R14: ffff888108dbee00 R15: ffff88814519b800 [ 57.582313] FS: 0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff88885f840000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 57.583040] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 57.583564] CR2: 000000c4206aa000 CR3: 0000000103847001 CR4: 0000000000370eb0 [ 57.584194] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000 [ 57.584820] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400 [ 57.585440] Call Trace: [ 57.585721] <IRQ> [ 57.585976] ? __warn+0x7d/0x130 [ 57.586323] ? br_nf_local_in+0x157/0x180 [br_netfilter] [ 57.586811] ? report_bug+0xf1/0x1c0 [ 57.587177] ? handle_bug+0x3f/0x70 [ 57.587539] ? exc_invalid_op+0x13/0x60 [ 57.587929] ? asm_exc_invalid_op+0x16/0x20 [ 57.588336] ? br_nf_local_in+0x157/0x180 [br_netfilter] [ 57.588825] nf_hook_slow+0x3d/0xd0 [ 57.589188] ? br_handle_vlan+0x4b/0x110 [ 57.589579] br_pass_frame_up+0xfc/0x150 [ 57.589970] ? br_port_flags_change+0x40/0x40 [ 57.590396] br_handle_frame_finish+0x346/0x5e0 [ 57.590837] ? ipt_do_table+0x32e/0x430 [ 57.591221] ? br_handle_local_finish+0x20/0x20 [ 57.591656] br_nf_hook_thresh+0x4b/0xf0 [br_netfilter] [ 57.592286] ? br_handle_local_finish+0x20/0x20 [ 57.592802] br_nf_pre_routing_finish+0x178/0x480 [br_netfilter] [ 57.593348] ? br_handle_local_finish+0x20/0x20 [ 57.593782] ? nf_nat_ipv4_pre_routing+0x25/0x60 [nf_nat] [ 57.594279] br_nf_pre_routing+0x24c/0x550 [br_netfilter] [ 57.594780] ? br_nf_hook_thresh+0xf0/0xf0 [br_netfilter] [ 57.595280] br_handle_frame+0x1f3/0x3d0 [ 57.595676] ? br_handle_local_finish+0x20/0x20 [ 57.596118] ? br_handle_frame_finish+0x5e0/0x5e0 [ 57.596566] __netif_receive_skb_core+0x25b/0xfc0 [ 57.597017] ? __napi_build_skb+0x37/0x40 [ 57.597418] __netif_receive_skb_list_core+0xfb/0x220
| Software | From | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.9-rc3 | 6.9-rc3.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.9-rc4 | 6.9-rc4.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.9-rc1 | 6.9-rc1.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.9-rc2 | 6.9-rc2.x |
| fedoraproject / fedora | 38 | 38.x |
| fedoraproject / fedora | 39 | 39.x |
| fedoraproject / fedora | 40 | 40.x |
| linux / linux_kernel | 5.15.151 | 5.15.157 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.1.81 | 6.1.88 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.6.21 | 6.6.29 |
| linux / linux_kernel | 6.7.9 | 6.8.8 |
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.