Kernel crash via unchecked allocation failure
Published May 6, 2026 · Updated May 6, 2026
NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash PowerPC systems by exhausting kernel memory. In parse_thread_groups(), a failed kcalloc() leaves thread_group_array NULL, which is passed unchecked to of_property_read_u32_array(). Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and memory pressure during PowerPC thread-group parsing; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.
Summary
What happened
NULL pointer dereference in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to crash PowerPC systems by exhausting kernel memory. In parse_thread_groups(), a failed kcalloc() leaves thread_group_array NULL, which is passed unchecked to of_property_read_u32_array(). Exploitation requires low-privilege local access and memory pressure during PowerPC thread-group parsing; the bounded consequence is a kernel crash.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-43148
- Published
- May 6, 2026
- Updated
- May 6, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-476, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 6, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=5.11
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <1de31dba19c3cd0c1caf388a286b46df638f0b91
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <33c1c6d8a28a2761ac74b0380b2563cf546c2a3a
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <8b221db0b7d24675e465e98d9326d298025a4e8d
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <9b85c8f624b0f8cf9b932f5a65dacd56a1f47a72
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <9d0ca11258e7b452653d04310addfec1753de1a2
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <b265e53d9adfbb5751713185843f7188aa9dd066
- Affected versionversion=790a1662d3a26fe9fa5f691386d8fde6bb8b0dc2 <ca46d2092f307385a7acfb42632056570d6dbbbc
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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