CVE-2022-34918

HIGH EXPLOITED

Netfilter nft_set_elem_init Heap Overflow Privilege Escalation

Title source: metasploit
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2022-34918 has been observed exploited in the wild (reported by VulnCheck KEV). EIP tracks 6 public exploits from researchers including randorisec, veritas501, merlinepedra, including a Metasploit module exploits/linux/local/netfilter_nft_set_elem_init_privesc.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2022-34918, targeting the Linux kernel (specifically Ubuntu 5.15.0-39-generic). The exploit leverages heap spraying and keyring manipulation to achieve privilege escalation, with detailed implementation in C.

Description

An issue was discovered in the Linux kernel through 5.18.9. A type confusion bug in nft_set_elem_init (leading to a buffer overflow) could be used by a local attacker to escalate privileges, a different vulnerability than CVE-2022-32250. (The attacker can obtain root access, but must start with an unprivileged user namespace to obtain CAP_NET_ADMIN access.) This can be fixed in nft_setelem_parse_data in net/netfilter/nf_tables_api.c.

Exploits (6)

nomisec WORKING POC 245 stars
by randorisec · local
https://github.com/randorisec/CVE-2022-34918-LPE-PoC

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2022-34918, targeting the Linux kernel (specifically Ubuntu 5.15.0-39-generic). The exploit leverages heap spraying and keyring manipulation to achieve privilege escalation, with detailed implementation in C.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a vulnerable Linux kernel version · Ability to compile and execute the exploit locally
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 219 stars
by veritas501 · local
https://github.com/veritas501/CVE-2022-34918

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2022-34918, targeting a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's netfilter subsystem. The exploit leverages the USMA technique to achieve privilege escalation and namespace escape, with detailed shellcode generation and kernel memory manipulation.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel (netfilter subsystem)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Linux kernel with vulnerable netfilter subsystem · Local access to the target system
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by merlinepedra · poc
https://github.com/merlinepedra/CVE-2022-34918-LPE-PoC

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2022-34918, targeting Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic. The exploit leverages heap spraying and netfilter set manipulation to achieve arbitrary write primitives and escalate privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a vulnerable Linux kernel (5.15.0-39-generic) · CAP_NET_ADMIN capability
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 2 stars
by merlinepedra25 · poc
https://github.com/merlinepedra25/CVE-2022-34918-LPE-PoC

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2022-34918, targeting Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic. The exploit leverages heap spraying and netfilter set manipulation to achieve arbitrary write primitives and escalate privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged user access · Kernel version 5.15.0-39-generic
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by linulinu · poc
https://github.com/linulinu/CVE-2022-34918

This repository contains a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2022-34918, targeting Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic. The exploit leverages heap spraying and netfilter set manipulation to achieve arbitrary write primitives and ultimately gain root access.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Linux kernel 5.15.0-39-generic
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Access to a vulnerable Linux kernel (5.15.0-39-generic) · CAP_NET_ADMIN capability
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC NORMAL
rubypoclinux
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/linux/local/netfilter_nft_set_elem_init_privesc.rb

This Metasploit module exploits a type confusion bug in the Linux kernel's nft_set_elem_init function (CVE-2022-34918) to achieve local privilege escalation. It leverages a heap overflow to escalate privileges from an unprivileged user namespace with CAP_NET_ADMIN access to root.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Racy
Target: Linux kernel through 5.18.9
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Unprivileged user namespace with CAP_NET_ADMIN access · Kernel version 5.7 to 5.18.9 · CONFIG_USER_NS enabled · x86_64 architecture
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →

References (10)

Core 10
Core References
Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/07/05/1
Exploit, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://www.randorisec.fr/crack-linux-firewall/
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_debian
https://www.debian.org/security/2022/dsa-5191
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/08/06/5
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20220826-0004/
Exploit, Mailing List, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2022/07/02/3

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.0513
EPSS Percentile 91.3%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

VulnCheck KEV 2025-02-26
CWE
CWE-843
Status published
Products (12)
canonical/ubuntu_linux 14.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 16.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 18.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 20.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 22.04
debian/debian_linux 11.0
linux/linux_kernel 4.1 - 4.14.316
netapp/h300s_firmware
netapp/h410c_firmware
netapp/h410s_firmware
... and 2 more
Published Jul 04, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026