Vulnerability Snapshot
CVE-2026-80668 is rated CRITICAL — exploitation is trivial or already observed in the wild and impact is severe. Patch immediately, not on the next maintenance window.
Executive Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations
This patch replaces the timer API by GC worker approach for
expectations, as it already happened in many other subsystems.
Use the existing conntrack GC worker to iterate over the local list of
expectations in the master conntrack to reap expired expectations.
Check IPS_HELPER_BIT to run GC for expectations, set it on for nft_ct
expectation which nevers sets it. Hold the expectation spinlock while
iterating over the master conntrack expectation list to synchronize with
nf_ct_remove_expectations(). This also performs runtime packet path
garbage collection through the expectation insertion and lookup
functions while walking over one of the chains of the global expectation
hashtables. Unconfirmed conntrack entries are skipped since ct->ext can
be reallocated and dying are skipped since those will be gone soon.
Set on IPS_HELPER_BIT if the helper ct e
Why It Matters
CVE-2026-80668 is rated CRITICAL severity, requiring immediate attention from security teams.
CVSS Base Score: 9.8/10
EPSS (Exploit Prediction): 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
🛡️What Defenders Should Check
Use Vulnios to continuously monitor your exposure to CVE-2026-80668 and similar vulnerabilities.
References & Sources
How Vulnios Detects This
Vulnios scans for this vulnerability using Trivy and Grype for SBOM-based CVE matching and Vulnios CVE feed continuous monitoring against your asset inventory. Run a scan against your environment to see whether you are exposed; findings are linked back to the original CVE record so triage starts with the patch path already known.
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Sources
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-80668?
CVE-2026-80668 is a critical-severity vulnerability tracked under the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures program. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
netfilter: nf_conntrack_expect: use conntrack GC to reap expectations
This patch replaces the timer API by GC worker approach for
Am I affected?
Affected technology is listed in the Affected Products section above. If your asset inventory contains any of them, assume in-scope until you can prove otherwise.
How urgent is the response?
Critical: do not wait for your normal patch cycle. Verify exposure today, apply the vendor patch immediately, and add detection rules for any post-exploit indicators.
How do I remediate?
Apply the vendor patch listed in the upstream advisory linked under Sources. If the patch is not yet available, follow the vendor-supplied workaround (often a config flag or feature disable) and add detections for the published exploit pattern in your SIEM. Re-scan after the patch lands to confirm the finding clears.
Where can I track exploitation activity?
Watch CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog for CVE-2026-80668. Cross-reference with public exploit databases and your own SIEM/IDS for indicator-of-compromise patterns. Vulnios tracks KEV status automatically and surfaces it on the asset findings view.
How does Vulnios help with this?
Vulnios continuously cross-references your asset inventory against the live CVE feed (NVD, vendor advisories, CISA KEV, and curated OSINT). When a new CVE matches your environment, you get a prioritized finding with the severity, KEV status, exploit-prediction (EPSS), and a direct path to the vendor patch. You can start a free scan from the homepage.
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