Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2026-43370 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions ae87aea330c24f462fc7058ed543ba8bc6798447, 46d309996bd9251792d7dafdbaf615cf202b4447, e61e355cbe49e585097eee28c15b862bfb1c0668 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.12% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to ae87aea330c24f462fc7058ed543ba8bc6798447 or 46d309996bd9251792d7dafdbaf615cf202b4447 or e61e355cbe49e585097eee28c15b862bfb1c0668 or c658c1c85ec235b7ecfbf8dbfee385b1332088f4, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.253 or 5.15.203 or 6.1.167 or 6.6.130, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, ae87aea330c24f462fc7058ed543ba8bc6798447; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, 46d309996bd9251792d7dafdbaf615cf202b4447; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, e61e355cbe49e585097eee28c15b862bfb1c0668; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, c658c1c85ec235b7ecfbf8dbfee385b1332088f4; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, 904025fa8bba1d028adade33346372b4ac1a9249; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, 7885eb335d8f9e9942925d57e300a85e3f82ded4; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, 94b7782d0c8024f5b88454241c8d4777076c3786; ede0dd86f45adf2b7083bb161f6bc81da5fe2bad up to, but not including, 2c1030f2e84885cc58bffef6af67d5b9d2e7098f; and 1 more ranges | ae87aea330c24f462fc7058ed543ba8bc6798447, 46d309996bd9251792d7dafdbaf615cf202b4447, e61e355cbe49e585097eee28c15b862bfb1c0668, c658c1c85ec235b7ecfbf8dbfee385b1332088f4, 904025fa8bba1d028adade33346372b4ac1a9249, 7885eb335d8f9e9942925d57e300a85e3f82ded4 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 4.17 up to, but not including, 5.10.253; 5.11 up to, but not including, 5.15.203; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.167; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.130; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.78; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.19; 6.19 up to, but not including, 6.19.9; 7.0 | 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 6.1.167, 6.6.130, 6.12.78, 6.18.19 |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Privileges required
- LowA basic user account is enough.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Scope
- UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
- Confidentiality
- HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
- Integrity
- HighData or code can be modified at will.
- Availability
- HighThe component can be taken down completely.
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amdgpu: Fix use-after-free race in VM acquire Replace non-atomic vm->process_info assignment with cmpxchg() to prevent race when parent/child processes sharing a drm_file both try to acquire the same VM after fork(). (cherry picked from commit c7c573275ec20db05be769288a3e3bb2250ec618)
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
- When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c1030f2e84885cc58bffef6af67d5b9d2e7098f
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/46d309996bd9251792d7dafdbaf615cf202b4447
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/7885eb335d8f9e9942925d57e300a85e3f82ded4
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/904025fa8bba1d028adade33346372b4ac1a9249
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/94b7782d0c8024f5b88454241c8d4777076c3786
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ae87aea330c24f462fc7058ed543ba8bc6798447
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/c658c1c85ec235b7ecfbf8dbfee385b1332088f4
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/e61e355cbe49e585097eee28c15b862bfb1c0668
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
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- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
- 7.8 High severity
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