CVE-2026-43161

Host hard-lock via inaccessible-device ATS invalidation

Published May 6, 2026 · Updated May 6, 2026

Availability failure in Linux Kernel allows local users to hard-lock a host by dropping an ATS-enabled pass-through PCIe link. The Intel VT-d __context_flush_dev_iotlb path submits device-IOTLB invalidation to an inaccessible endpoint and waits indefinitely instead of testing device presence. Exposure requires Intel IOMMU without scalable mode, an ATS-enabled PCIe endpoint assigned to userspace, and a surprise removal or link fault; the entire host hangs.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Availability failure in Linux Kernel allows local users to hard-lock a host by dropping an ATS-enabled pass-through PCIe link. The Intel VT-d __context_flush_dev_iotlb path submits device-IOTLB invalidation to an inaccessible endpoint and waits indefinitely instead of testing device presence. Exposure requires Intel IOMMU without scalable mode, an ATS-enabled PCIe endpoint assigned to userspace, and a surprise removal or link fault; the entire host hangs.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-43161
Published
May 6, 2026
Updated
May 6, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <42662d19839f34735b718129ea200e3734b07e50
  2. Affected versionversion=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <48b3f08e68b29a79527869cdde7298ca2a9b9646
  3. Affected versionversion=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <bc0490ad9edf5c6f98e39fbbee2877b85261a5ae
  4. Affected versionversion=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <e70d5feb10c5ba2bbf7ca400b8f39a2f82d653e8
  5. Affected versionversion=5.14
  6. Affected versionversion=948ec6d003280d49aca49b366aa5cb140f87434d
  7. Affected versionversion=99301a53a1378f8863ac7850b9589f997bb0e125

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <42662d19839f34735b718129ea200e3734b07e50; version=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <48b3f08e68b29a79527869cdde7298ca2a9b9646; version=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <bc0490ad9edf5c6f98e39fbbee2877b85261a5ae; version=37764b952e1b39053defc7ebe5dcd8c4e3e78de9 <e70d5feb10c5ba2bbf7ca400b8f39a2f82d653e8; version=5.14; version=948ec6d003280d49aca49b366aa5cb140f87434d; version=99301a53a1378f8863ac7850b9589f997bb0e125

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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