The Linux kernel’s ebtables subsystem contains a race condition where the table operations structure was assigned without holding the ebt mutex, potentially exposing a partially initialized structure to other kernel code or user utilities. Affected code paths could result in incorrect packet filtering or unexpected behavior. The issue aligns with CWE‑413, which covers improper cleanup or use‑after‑free errors.

Affected products include all Linux kernel releases that ship with the ebtables module, as the vulnerability resides in the core netfilter ebtables code. No specific version ranges are supplied, so any kernel variant containing ebtables should be inspected for the presence of the race condition and patched after the update.

This vulnerability has a CVSS score of 7.8, placing it in the high‑severity range. The EPSS score of less than 1% indicates a low likelihood of exploitation at this time, and the flaw has not been listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. Likely attack vectors involve privileged modification of ebtables or crafted network traffic that triggers table removal, so the flaw is potentially exploitable via local or remote privileged access. The risk is mitigated by applying the kernel update that implements the two‑stage removal scheme.