Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
Suricata can mishandle memory when too many alerts are generated for one packet. In affected versions, this may let a remote, unauthenticated actor affect alert integrity or availability, but the CVSS attack complexity is high. Organizations using Suricata for IDS, IPS, or network monitoring should upgrade on a normal expedited security schedule.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation for production IDS/IPS sensors because failure or corrupted alert handling can reduce detection reliability. This is high severity but not currently evidenced as exploited in the provided sources. Upgrade during the next expedited security maintenance window, sooner for high-volume sensors or those using third-party rulesets.
Technical view
CVE-2026-22264 is an unsigned integer overflow leading to heap use-after-free during alert queue expansion when excessive alerts are generated for a single packet. Affected versions are Suricata before 7.0.14 and 8.0.0 through before 8.0.3. CVSS 3.1 is 7.4, AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to deployments running affected Suricata versions, especially sensors using large or untrusted rulesets. The advisory notes a condition involving more than 65,536 signatures that can match the same packet. Internet reachability of the sensor is not required; malicious traffic only needs to be inspected by Suricata.
Exploitation context
The source bundle does not identify active exploitation, public weaponized exploit use, or CISA KEV listing. Exploitation is rated high complexity and depends on generating excessive alerts for a single packet. Impact is integrity and availability, not confidentiality, according to the CVSS vector.
Researcher notes
The core issue is alert queue expansion under extreme same-packet alert volume, producing integer overflow and heap use-after-free. Vendor commits and Redmine issue are available for patch review. Avoid assuming remote code execution; the provided CVSS states integrity and availability impact only, with high attack complexity.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Suricata 7.x to 7.0.14 or later.
- Upgrade Suricata 8.x to 8.0.3 or later.
- Do not run untrusted Suricata rulesets until upgraded.
- Reduce rule conditions so fewer than 65,536 signatures can match one packet.
- Review OISF advisory and local package vendor guidance.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Suricata sensors and record installed versions.
- Identify any installations before 7.0.14 or 8.0.0 through 8.0.2.
- Review whether untrusted or unusually large rulesets are enabled.
- Confirm upgraded sensors report version 7.0.14, 8.0.3, or later.
- Monitor Suricata stability and alerting after upgrade.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
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CWE-416: Exact CWE lookup
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Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-22264 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 7.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H2.25.2Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.4HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/OISF/suricata/security/advisories/GHSA-mqr8-m3m4-2hw5CVE reference · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/OISF/suricata/commit/549d7bf60616de8e54686a188196453b5b22f715CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/OISF/suricata/commit/5789a3d3760dbf33d93fc56c27bd9529e5bdc8f2CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/OISF/suricata/commit/ac1eb394181530430fb7262969f423a1bf8f209bCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://redmine.openinfosecfoundation.org/issues/8190CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Use After Free
Use After Free represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.