Deprecate Rule.Flags field

The functionality added in a46119e5 never worked: If you set
NFTA_RULE_POSITION to 0, the kernel will just complain that a rule with
this handle does not exist. This removes the broken functionality,
leaving the field deprecated.

The right way to insert a rule at the beginning of a chain is to use
InsertRule and leave Position unset.

https://github.com/google/nftables/issues/126 mentions that the nft
command allows referring to rules by index. But here is a quote from the
nft manpage:

> The add and insert commands support an optional location specifier,
> which is either a handle or the index (starting at zero) of an
> existing rule. Internally, rule locations are always identified by
> handle and the translation from index happens in userspace.

In other words, identifiying rules by index is a feature of nft and is
not part of the kernel interface.

chain.go

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) AddChain(c *Chain) *Chain {
 			{Type: unix.NFTA_CHAIN_TYPE, Data: []byte(c.Type + "\x00")},
 		})...)
 	}
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_NEWCHAIN),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create,
@@ -161,7 +161,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) DelChain(c *Chain) {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_CHAIN_NAME, Data: []byte(c.Name + "\x00")},
 	})
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELCHAIN),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) FlushChain(c *Chain) {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_TABLE, Data: []byte(c.Table.Name + "\x00")},
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_CHAIN, Data: []byte(c.Name + "\x00")},
 	})
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELRULE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,

conn.go

@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ package nftables
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
+	"math"
 	"os"
 	"sync"
 	"syscall"
@@ -38,12 +39,20 @@ type Conn struct {
 	TestDial nltest.Func // for testing only; passed to nltest.Dial
 	NetNS    int         // fd referencing the network namespace netlink will interact with.
 
-	lasting     bool       // establish a lasting connection to be used across multiple netlink operations.
+	lasting      bool       // establish a lasting connection to be used across multiple netlink operations.
-	mu          sync.Mutex // protects the following state
+	mu           sync.Mutex // protects the following state
-	messages    []netlink.Message
+	messages     []netlinkMessage
-	err         error
+	err          error
-	nlconn      *netlink.Conn // netlink socket using NETLINK_NETFILTER protocol.
+	nlconn       *netlink.Conn // netlink socket using NETLINK_NETFILTER protocol.
-	sockOptions []SockOption
+	sockOptions  []SockOption
+	lastID       uint32
+	allocatedIDs uint32
+}
+
+type netlinkMessage struct {
+	Header netlink.Header
+	Data   []byte
+	rule   *Rule
 }
 
 // ConnOption is an option to change the behavior of the nftables Conn returned by Open.
@@ -168,24 +177,6 @@ func receiveAckAware(nlconn *netlink.Conn, sentMsgFlags netlink.HeaderFlags) ([]
 		return reply, nil
 	}
 
-	if len(reply) != 0 {
-		last := reply[len(reply)-1]
-		for re := last.Header.Type; (re&netlink.Overrun) == netlink.Overrun && (re&netlink.Done) != netlink.Done; re = last.Header.Type {
-			// we are not finished, the message is overrun
-			r, err := nlconn.Receive()
-			if err != nil {
-				return nil, err
-			}
-			reply = append(reply, r...)
-			last = reply[len(reply)-1]
-		}
-
-		if last.Header.Type == netlink.Error && binaryutil.BigEndian.Uint32(last.Data[:4]) == 0 {
-			// we have already collected an ack
-			return reply, nil
-		}
-	}
-
 	// Now we expect an ack
 	ack, err := nlconn.Receive()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -193,8 +184,7 @@ func receiveAckAware(nlconn *netlink.Conn, sentMsgFlags netlink.HeaderFlags) ([]
 	}
 
 	if len(ack) == 0 {
-		// received an empty ack?
+		return nil, errors.New("received an empty ack")
-		return reply, nil
 	}
 
 	msg := ack[0]
@@ -244,6 +234,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) Flush() error {
 	cc.mu.Lock()
 	defer func() {
 		cc.messages = nil
+		cc.allocatedIDs = 0
 		cc.mu.Unlock()
 	}()
 	if len(cc.messages) == 0 {
@@ -259,15 +250,54 @@ func (cc *Conn) Flush() error {
 	}
 	defer func() { _ = closer() }()
 
-	if _, err := conn.SendMessages(batch(cc.messages)); err != nil {
+	messages, err := conn.SendMessages(batch(cc.messages))
+	if err != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("SendMessages: %w", err)
 	}
 
 	var errs error
+
+	// Fetch replies. Each message with the Echo flag triggers a reply of the same
+	// type. Additionally, if the first message of the batch has the Echo flag, we
+	// get a reply of type NFT_MSG_NEWGEN, which we ignore.
+	replyIndex := 0
+	for replyIndex < len(cc.messages) && cc.messages[replyIndex].Header.Flags&netlink.Echo == 0 {
+		replyIndex++
+	}
+	replies, err := conn.Receive()
+	for err == nil && len(replies) != 0 {
+		reply := replies[0]
+		if reply.Header.Type == netlink.Error && reply.Header.Sequence == messages[1].Header.Sequence {
+			// The next message is the acknowledgement for the first message in the
+			// batch; stop looking for replies.
+			break
+		} else if replyIndex < len(cc.messages) {
+			msg := messages[replyIndex+1]
+			if msg.Header.Sequence == reply.Header.Sequence && msg.Header.Type == reply.Header.Type {
+				// The only messages which set the echo flag are rule create messages.
+				err := cc.messages[replyIndex].rule.handleCreateReply(reply)
+				if err != nil {
+					errs = errors.Join(errs, err)
+				}
+				replyIndex++
+				for replyIndex < len(cc.messages) && cc.messages[replyIndex].Header.Flags&netlink.Echo == 0 {
+					replyIndex++
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		replies = replies[1:]
+		if len(replies) == 0 {
+			replies, err = conn.Receive()
+		}
+	}
+
 	// Fetch the requested acknowledgement for each message we sent.
-	for _, msg := range cc.messages {
+	for i := range cc.messages {
-		if _, err := receiveAckAware(conn, msg.Header.Flags); err != nil {
+		if i != 0 {
-			if errors.Is(err, os.ErrPermission) || errors.Is(err, syscall.ENOBUFS) {
+			_, err = conn.Receive()
+		}
+		if err != nil {
+			if errors.Is(err, os.ErrPermission) || errors.Is(err, syscall.ENOBUFS) || errors.Is(err, syscall.ENOMEM) {
 				// Kernel will only send one error to user space.
 				return err
 			}
@@ -278,6 +308,9 @@ func (cc *Conn) Flush() error {
 	if errs != nil {
 		return fmt.Errorf("conn.Receive: %w", errs)
 	}
+	if replyIndex < len(cc.messages) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("missing reply for message %d in batch", replyIndex)
+	}
 
 	return nil
 }
@@ -287,7 +320,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) Flush() error {
 func (cc *Conn) FlushRuleset() {
 	cc.mu.Lock()
 	defer cc.mu.Unlock()
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELTABLE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create,
@@ -346,26 +379,47 @@ func (cc *Conn) marshalExpr(fam byte, e expr.Any) []byte {
 	return b
 }
 
-func batch(messages []netlink.Message) []netlink.Message {
+func batch(messages []netlinkMessage) []netlink.Message {
-	batch := []netlink.Message{
+	batch := make([]netlink.Message, len(messages)+2)
-		{
+	batch[0] = netlink.Message{
-			Header: netlink.Header{
+		Header: netlink.Header{
-				Type:  netlink.HeaderType(unix.NFNL_MSG_BATCH_BEGIN),
+			Type:  netlink.HeaderType(unix.NFNL_MSG_BATCH_BEGIN),
-				Flags: netlink.Request,
+			Flags: netlink.Request,
-			},
-			Data: extraHeader(0, unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES),
 		},
+		Data: extraHeader(0, unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES),
 	}
 
-	batch = append(batch, messages...)
+	for i, msg := range messages {
+		batch[i+1] = netlink.Message{
+			Header: msg.Header,
+			Data:   msg.Data,
+		}
+	}
 
-	batch = append(batch, netlink.Message{
+	batch[len(messages)+1] = netlink.Message{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType(unix.NFNL_MSG_BATCH_END),
 			Flags: netlink.Request,
 		},
 		Data: extraHeader(0, unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES),
-	})
+	}
 
 	return batch
 }
+
+// allocateTransactionID allocates an identifier which is only valid in the
+// current transaction.
+func (cc *Conn) allocateTransactionID() uint32 {
+	if cc.allocatedIDs == math.MaxUint32 {
+		panic(fmt.Sprintf("trying to allocate more than %d IDs in a single nftables transaction", math.MaxUint32))
+	}
+	// To make it more likely to catch when a transaction ID is erroneously used
+	// in a later transaction, cc.lastID is not reset after each transaction;
+	// instead it is only reset once it rolls over from math.MaxUint32 to 0.
+	cc.allocatedIDs++
+	cc.lastID++
+	if cc.lastID == 0 {
+		cc.lastID = 1
+	}
+	return cc.lastID
+}

flowtable.go

@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) AddFlowtable(f *Flowtable) *Flowtable {
 		{Type: unix.NLA_F_NESTED | NFTA_FLOWTABLE_HOOK, Data: cc.marshalAttr(hookAttr)},
 	})...)
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | NFT_MSG_NEWFLOWTABLE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create,
@@ -162,7 +162,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) DelFlowtable(f *Flowtable) {
 		{Type: NFTA_FLOWTABLE_NAME, Data: []byte(f.Name)},
 	})
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | NFT_MSG_DELFLOWTABLE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,

go.mod

@@ -1,17 +1,17 @@
 module github.com/google/nftables
 
-go 1.21
+go 1.23.0
 
 require (
 	github.com/google/go-cmp v0.6.0
 	github.com/mdlayher/netlink v1.7.3-0.20250113171957-fbb4dce95f42
 	github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.0
 	github.com/vishvananda/netns v0.0.4
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.31.0
 )
 
 require (
 	github.com/mdlayher/socket v0.5.0 // indirect
-	golang.org/x/net v0.33.0 // indirect
+	golang.org/x/net v0.37.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/sync v0.6.0 // indirect
 )

go.sum

@@ -8,11 +8,11 @@ github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.0 h1:X7l42GfcV4S6E4vHTsw48qbrV+9PVojNfIhZcwQ
 github.com/vishvananda/netlink v1.3.0/go.mod h1:i6NetklAujEcC6fK0JPjT8qSwWyO0HLn4UKG+hGqeJs=
 github.com/vishvananda/netns v0.0.4 h1:Oeaw1EM2JMxD51g9uhtC0D7erkIjgmj8+JZc26m1YX8=
 github.com/vishvananda/netns v0.0.4/go.mod h1:SpkAiCQRtJ6TvvxPnOSyH3BMl6unz3xZlaprSwhNNJM=
-golang.org/x/net v0.33.0 h1:74SYHlV8BIgHIFC/LrYkOGIwL19eTYXQ5wc6TBuO36I=
+golang.org/x/net v0.37.0 h1:1zLorHbz+LYj7MQlSf1+2tPIIgibq2eL5xkrGk6f+2c=
-golang.org/x/net v0.33.0/go.mod h1:HXLR5J+9DxmrqMwG9qjGCxZ+zKXxBru04zlTvWlWuN4=
+golang.org/x/net v0.37.0/go.mod h1:ivrbrMbzFq5J41QOQh0siUuly180yBYtLp+CKbEaFx8=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.6.0 h1:5BMeUDZ7vkXGfEr1x9B4bRcTH4lpkTkpdh0T/J+qjbQ=
 golang.org/x/sync v0.6.0/go.mod h1:Czt+wKu1gCyEFDUtn0jG5QVvpJ6rzVqr5aXyt9drQfk=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.2.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
 golang.org/x/sys v0.10.0/go.mod h1:oPkhp1MJrh7nUepCBck5+mAzfO9JrbApNNgaTdGDITg=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0 h1:Fksou7UEQUWlKvIdsqzJmUmCX3cZuD2+P3XyyzwMhlA=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.31.0 h1:ioabZlmFYtWhL+TRYpcnNlLwhyxaM9kWTDEmfnprqik=
-golang.org/x/sys v0.28.0/go.mod h1:/VUhepiaJMQUp4+oa/7Zr1D23ma6VTLIYjOOTFZPUcA=
+golang.org/x/sys v0.31.0/go.mod h1:BJP2sWEmIv4KK5OTEluFJCKSidICx8ciO85XgH3Ak8k=

internal/nftest/nftest.go

@@ -8,7 +8,9 @@ import (
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/google/nftables"
+	"github.com/google/nftables/binaryutil"
 	"github.com/mdlayher/netlink"
+	"golang.org/x/sys/unix"
 )
 
 // Recorder provides an nftables connection that does not send to the Linux
@@ -21,14 +23,34 @@ type Recorder struct {
 // Conn opens an nftables connection that records netlink messages into the
 // Recorder.
 func (r *Recorder) Conn() (*nftables.Conn, error) {
+	nextHandle := uint64(1)
 	return nftables.New(nftables.WithTestDial(
 		func(req []netlink.Message) ([]netlink.Message, error) {
 			r.requests = append(r.requests, req...)
 
-			acks := make([]netlink.Message, 0, len(req))
+			replies := make([]netlink.Message, 0, len(req))
+			// Generate replies.
+			for _, msg := range req {
+				if msg.Header.Flags&netlink.Echo != 0 {
+					data := append([]byte{}, msg.Data...)
+					switch msg.Header.Type {
+					case netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_NEWRULE):
+						attrs, _ := netlink.MarshalAttributes([]netlink.Attribute{
+							{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_HANDLE, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint64(nextHandle)},
+						})
+						nextHandle++
+						data = append(data, attrs...)
+					}
+					replies = append(replies, netlink.Message{
+						Header: msg.Header,
+						Data:   data,
+					})
+				}
+			}
+			// Generate acknowledgements.
 			for _, msg := range req {
 				if msg.Header.Flags&netlink.Acknowledge != 0 {
-					acks = append(acks, netlink.Message{
+					replies = append(replies, netlink.Message{
 						Header: netlink.Header{
 							Length:   4,
 							Type:     netlink.Error,
@@ -39,7 +61,7 @@ func (r *Recorder) Conn() (*nftables.Conn, error) {
 					})
 				}
 			}
-			return acks, nil
+			return replies, nil
 		}))
 }
 

obj.go

@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) AddObj(o Obj) Obj {
 		attrs = append(attrs, netlink.Attribute{Type: unix.NLA_F_NESTED | unix.NFTA_OBJ_DATA, Data: data})
 	}
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_NEWOBJ),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create,
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) DeleteObject(o Obj) {
 	data := cc.marshalAttr(attrs)
 	data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{{Type: unix.NLA_F_NESTED | unix.NFTA_OBJ_DATA}})...)
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELOBJ),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,

rule.go

@@ -30,6 +30,10 @@ const (
 	delRuleHeaderType = netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELRULE)
 )
 
+// This constant is missing at unix.NFTA_RULE_POSITION_ID.
+// TODO: Add the constant in unix and then remove it here.
+const nfta_rule_position_id = 0xa
+
 type ruleOperation uint32
 
 // Possible PayloadOperationType values.
@@ -42,10 +46,22 @@ const (
 // A Rule does something with a packet. See also
 // https://wiki.nftables.org/wiki-nftables/index.php/Simple_rule_management
 type Rule struct {
-	Table    *Table
+	Table *Table
-	Chain    *Chain
+	Chain *Chain
+	// Handle identifies an existing Rule. For a new Rule, this field is set
+	// during the Flush() in which the rule is committed. Make sure to not access
+	// this field concurrently with this Flush() to avoid data races.
+	Handle uint64
+	// ID is an identifier for a new Rule, which is assigned by
+	// AddRule/InsertRule, and only valid before the rule is committed by Flush().
+	// The field is set to 0 during Flush().
+	ID uint32
+	// Position can be set to the Handle of another Rule to insert the new Rule
+	// before (InsertRule) or after (AddRule) the existing rule.
 	Position uint64
-	Handle   uint64
+	// PositionID can be set to the ID of another Rule, same as Position, for when
+	// the existing rule is not yet committed.
+	PositionID uint32
 	// Deprecated: The feature for which this field was added never worked.
 	// The field may be removed in a later version.
 	Flags    uint32
@@ -79,7 +95,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) GetRules(t *Table, c *Chain) ([]*Rule, error) {
 	message := netlink.Message{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_GETRULE),
-			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Dump | unix.NLM_F_ECHO,
+			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Dump,
 		},
 		Data: append(extraHeader(uint8(t.Family), 0), data...),
 	}
@@ -104,7 +120,6 @@ func (cc *Conn) GetRules(t *Table, c *Chain) ([]*Rule, error) {
 	return rules, nil
 }
 
-// AddRule adds the specified Rule
 func (cc *Conn) newRule(r *Rule, op ruleOperation) *Rule {
 	cc.mu.Lock()
 	defer cc.mu.Unlock()
@@ -125,6 +140,11 @@ func (cc *Conn) newRule(r *Rule, op ruleOperation) *Rule {
 		data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
 			{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_HANDLE, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint64(r.Handle)},
 		})...)
+	} else {
+		r.ID = cc.allocateTransactionID()
+		data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
+			{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_ID, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint32(r.ID)},
+		})...)
 	}
 
 	data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
@@ -145,43 +165,77 @@ func (cc *Conn) newRule(r *Rule, op ruleOperation) *Rule {
 	msgData := []byte{}
 
 	msgData = append(msgData, data...)
-	var flags netlink.HeaderFlags
 	if r.UserData != nil {
 		msgData = append(msgData, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
 			{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_USERDATA, Data: r.UserData},
 		})...)
 	}
 
+	var flags netlink.HeaderFlags
+	var ruleRef *Rule
 	switch op {
 	case operationAdd:
-		flags = netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create | unix.NLM_F_ECHO | unix.NLM_F_APPEND
+		flags = netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create | netlink.Echo | netlink.Append
+		ruleRef = r
 	case operationInsert:
-		flags = netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create | unix.NLM_F_ECHO
+		flags = netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create | netlink.Echo
+		ruleRef = r
 	case operationReplace:
-		flags = netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Replace | unix.NLM_F_ECHO | unix.NLM_F_REPLACE
+		flags = netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Replace
 	}
 
 	if r.Position != 0 {
 		msgData = append(msgData, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
 			{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_POSITION, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint64(r.Position)},
 		})...)
+	} else if r.PositionID != 0 {
+		msgData = append(msgData, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
+			{Type: nfta_rule_position_id, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint32(r.PositionID)},
+		})...)
 	}
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  newRuleHeaderType,
 			Flags: flags,
 		},
 		Data: append(extraHeader(uint8(r.Table.Family), 0), msgData...),
+		rule: ruleRef,
 	})
 
 	return r
 }
 
+func (r *Rule) handleCreateReply(reply netlink.Message) error {
+	ad, err := netlink.NewAttributeDecoder(reply.Data[4:])
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	ad.ByteOrder = binary.BigEndian
+	var handle uint64
+	for ad.Next() {
+		switch ad.Type() {
+		case unix.NFTA_RULE_HANDLE:
+			handle = ad.Uint64()
+		}
+	}
+	if ad.Err() != nil {
+		return ad.Err()
+	}
+	if handle == 0 {
+		return fmt.Errorf("missing rule handle in create reply")
+	}
+	r.Handle = handle
+	r.ID = 0
+	return nil
+}
+
 func (cc *Conn) ReplaceRule(r *Rule) *Rule {
 	return cc.newRule(r, operationReplace)
 }
 
+// AddRule inserts the specified Rule after the existing Rule referenced by
+// Position/PositionID if set, otherwise at the end of the chain.
 func (cc *Conn) AddRule(r *Rule) *Rule {
 	if r.Handle != 0 {
 		return cc.newRule(r, operationReplace)
@@ -190,6 +244,8 @@ func (cc *Conn) AddRule(r *Rule) *Rule {
 	return cc.newRule(r, operationAdd)
 }
 
+// InsertRule inserts the specified Rule before the existing Rule referenced by
+// Position/PositionID if set, otherwise at the beginning of the chain.
 func (cc *Conn) InsertRule(r *Rule) *Rule {
 	if r.Handle != 0 {
 		return cc.newRule(r, operationReplace)
@@ -198,7 +254,8 @@ func (cc *Conn) InsertRule(r *Rule) *Rule {
 	return cc.newRule(r, operationInsert)
 }
 
-// DelRule deletes the specified Rule, rule's handle cannot be 0
+// DelRule deletes the specified Rule. Either the Handle or ID of the
+// rule must be set.
 func (cc *Conn) DelRule(r *Rule) error {
 	cc.mu.Lock()
 	defer cc.mu.Unlock()
@@ -206,15 +263,20 @@ func (cc *Conn) DelRule(r *Rule) error {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_TABLE, Data: []byte(r.Table.Name + "\x00")},
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_CHAIN, Data: []byte(r.Chain.Name + "\x00")},
 	})
-	if r.Handle == 0 {
+	if r.Handle != 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("rule's handle cannot be 0")
+		data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
+			{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_HANDLE, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint64(r.Handle)},
+		})...)
+	} else if r.ID != 0 {
+		data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
+			{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_ID, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint32(r.ID)},
+		})...)
+	} else {
+		return fmt.Errorf("rule must have a handle or ID")
 	}
-	data = append(data, cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
-		{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_HANDLE, Data: binaryutil.BigEndian.PutUint64(r.Handle)},
-	})...)
 	flags := netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  delRuleHeaderType,
 			Flags: flags,

set.go

@@ -46,8 +46,6 @@ const (
 	NFTA_SET_ELEM_EXPRESSIONS = 0x11
 )
 
-var allocSetID uint32
-
 // SetDatatype represents a datatype declared by nft.
 type SetDatatype struct {
 	Name  string
@@ -508,7 +506,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) appendElemList(s *Set, vals []SetElement, hdrType uint16) error
 			{Type: unix.NFTA_SET_ELEM_LIST_ELEMENTS | unix.NLA_F_NESTED, Data: encodedElem},
 		}
 
-		cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+		cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 			Header: netlink.Header{
 				Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | hdrType),
 				Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create,
@@ -532,8 +530,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) AddSet(s *Set, vals []SetElement) error {
 	}
 
 	if s.ID == 0 {
-		allocSetID++
+		s.ID = cc.allocateTransactionID()
-		s.ID = allocSetID
 		if s.Anonymous {
 			s.Name = "__set%d"
 			if s.IsMap {
@@ -683,7 +680,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) AddSet(s *Set, vals []SetElement) error {
 		tableInfo = append(tableInfo, netlink.Attribute{Type: unix.NLA_F_NESTED | NFTA_SET_ELEM_EXPRESSIONS, Data: data})
 	}
 
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_NEWSET),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | netlink.Create,
@@ -703,7 +700,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) DelSet(s *Set) {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_SET_TABLE, Data: []byte(s.Table.Name + "\x00")},
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_SET_NAME, Data: []byte(s.Name + "\x00")},
 	})
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELSET),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,
@@ -720,7 +717,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) FlushSet(s *Set) {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_SET_TABLE, Data: []byte(s.Table.Name + "\x00")},
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_SET_NAME, Data: []byte(s.Name + "\x00")},
 	})
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELSETELEM),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,

set_test.go

@@ -254,7 +254,10 @@ func TestMarshalSet(t *testing.T) {
 			}
 			msg := c.messages[connMsgSetIdx]
 
-			nset, err := setsFromMsg(msg)
+			nset, err := setsFromMsg(netlink.Message{
+				Header: msg.Header,
+				Data:   msg.Data,
+			})
 			if err != nil {
 				t.Fatalf("setsFromMsg() error: %+v", err)
 			}

table.go

@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) DelTable(t *Table) {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_TABLE_NAME, Data: []byte(t.Name + "\x00")},
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_TABLE_FLAGS, Data: []byte{0, 0, 0, 0}},
 	})
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELTABLE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,
@@ -73,7 +73,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) addTable(t *Table, flag netlink.HeaderFlags) *Table {
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_TABLE_NAME, Data: []byte(t.Name + "\x00")},
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_TABLE_FLAGS, Data: []byte{0, 0, 0, 0}},
 	})
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_NEWTABLE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge | flag,
@@ -103,7 +103,7 @@ func (cc *Conn) FlushTable(t *Table) {
 	data := cc.marshalAttr([]netlink.Attribute{
 		{Type: unix.NFTA_RULE_TABLE, Data: []byte(t.Name + "\x00")},
 	})
-	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlink.Message{
+	cc.messages = append(cc.messages, netlinkMessage{
 		Header: netlink.Header{
 			Type:  netlink.HeaderType((unix.NFNL_SUBSYS_NFTABLES << 8) | unix.NFT_MSG_DELRULE),
 			Flags: netlink.Request | netlink.Acknowledge,