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Unity Linux 20.1050e Security Update: kernel (UTSA-2026-007489)
medium Nessus Plugin ID 307080
Synopsis
The Unity Linux host is missing one or more security updates.Description
The Unity Linux 20 host has a package installed that is affected by a vulnerability as referenced in the UTSA-2026-007489 advisory.In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: openvswitch: remove never-working support for setting nsh fields
The validation of the set(nsh(...)) action is completely wrong.
It runs through the nsh_key_put_from_nlattr() function that is the same function that validates NSH keys for the flow match and the push_nsh() action. However, the set(nsh(...)) has a very different memory layout. Nested attributes in there are doubled in size in case of the masked set(). That makes proper validation impossible.
There is also confusion in the code between the 'masked' flag, that says that the nested attributes are doubled in size containing both the value and the mask, and the 'is_mask' that says that the value we're parsing is the mask. This is causing kernel crash on trying to write into mask part of the match with SW_FLOW_KEY_PUT() during validation, while validate_nsh() doesn't allocate any memory for it:
BUG: kernel NULL pointer dereference, address: 0000000000000018 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page PGD 1c2383067 P4D 1c2383067 PUD 20b703067 PMD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 8 UID: 0 Kdump: loaded Not tainted 6.17.0-rc4+ #107 PREEMPT(voluntary) RIP: 0010:nsh_key_put_from_nlattr+0x19d/0x610 [openvswitch] Call Trace:
<TASK> validate_nsh+0x60/0x90 [openvswitch] validate_set.constprop.0+0x270/0x3c0 [openvswitch]
__ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x477/0x860 [openvswitch] ovs_nla_copy_actions+0x8d/0x100 [openvswitch] ovs_packet_cmd_execute+0x1cc/0x310 [openvswitch] genl_family_rcv_msg_doit+0xdb/0x130 genl_family_rcv_msg+0x14b/0x220 genl_rcv_msg+0x47/0xa0 netlink_rcv_skb+0x53/0x100 genl_rcv+0x24/0x40 netlink_unicast+0x280/0x3b0 netlink_sendmsg+0x1f7/0x430
____sys_sendmsg+0x36b/0x3a0
___sys_sendmsg+0x87/0xd0
__sys_sendmsg+0x6d/0xd0 do_syscall_64+0x7b/0x2c0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e
The third issue with this process is that while trying to convert the non-masked set into masked one, validate_set() copies and doubles the size of the OVS_KEY_ATTR_NSH as if it didn't have any nested attributes. It should be copying each nested attribute and doubling them in size independently. And the process must be properly reversed during the conversion back from masked to a non-masked variant during the flow dump.
In the end, the only two outcomes of trying to use this action are either validation failure or a kernel crash. And if somehow someone manages to install a flow with such an action, it will most definitely not do what it is supposed to, since all the keys and the masks are mixed up.
Fixing all the issues is a complex task as it requires re-writing most of the validation code.
Given that and the fact that this functionality never worked since introduction, let's just remove it altogether. It's better to re-introduce it later with a proper implementation instead of trying to fix it in stable releases.
Tenable has extracted the preceding description block directly from the Unity Linux security advisory.
Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.
Solution
Update the affected kernel package.See Also
http://www.nessus.org/u?b9305bff
Plugin Details
Severity: Medium
ID: 307080
File Name: unity_linux_UTSA-2026-007489.nasl
Version: 1.1
Type: Local
Published: 4/17/2026
Updated: 4/17/2026
Supported Sensors: Nessus
Risk Information
VPR
Risk Factor: Medium
Score: 4.4
CVSS v2
Risk Factor: Medium
Base Score: 4.6
Temporal Score: 3.4
Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:C
CVSS Score Source: CVE-2025-40254
CVSS v3
Risk Factor: Medium
Base Score: 5.5
Temporal Score: 4.8
Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
Vulnerability Information
Required KB Items: Host/local_checks_enabled, Host/cpu, Host/UOS-Server/release, Host/UOS-Server/rpm-list
Exploit Ease: No known exploits are available
Patch Publication Date: 4/17/2026
Vulnerability Publication Date: 12/4/2025
Reference Information
CVE: CVE-2025-40254