CVE-2026-43246

Service interruption via unreleased probe allocations

Published May 6, 2026 · Updated May 6, 2026

Memory leakage in the tw9906 media driver in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to exhaust memory via failed device probes. In tw9906_probe(), an error path after v4l2_ctrl_handler_init() and v4l2_ctrl_new_std() returns without calling v4l2_ctrl_handler_free(), leaving control-handler allocations live. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and repeated reachability of the driver probe failure path; sustained triggering can interrupt service through kernel-memory exhaustion.

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

Memory leakage in the tw9906 media driver in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to exhaust memory via failed device probes. In tw9906_probe(), an error path after v4l2_ctrl_handler_init() and v4l2_ctrl_new_std() returns without calling v4l2_ctrl_handler_free(), leaving control-handler allocations live. Exploitation requires local low-privilege access and repeated reachability of the driver probe failure path; sustained triggering can interrupt service through kernel-memory exhaustion.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-43246
Published
May 6, 2026
Updated
May 6, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, 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=3.10
  2. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <0c33338514d8246280533a77091e6b6ee548c606
  3. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <377a7756914364d72550fc86ca0f404ef1d96141
  4. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <59420d5d9c46b084e21f9ea6ce79fc79ae9e414c
  5. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <9548a8bbf511a252a9848f96220c6b95c9a3b918
  6. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <cad237b6c875fbee5d353a2b289e98d240d17ec8
  7. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <ccb92def042a3636ed47f25a30bd553788e5191e
  8. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <e9a490937942f18205dac7b6b192975ef1369ae1
  9. Affected versionversion=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <fb09d8b80046216646f1a344410cfa9cfa6c6c7c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=3.10; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <0c33338514d8246280533a77091e6b6ee548c606; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <377a7756914364d72550fc86ca0f404ef1d96141; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <59420d5d9c46b084e21f9ea6ce79fc79ae9e414c; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <9548a8bbf511a252a9848f96220c6b95c9a3b918; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <cad237b6c875fbee5d353a2b289e98d240d17ec8; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <ccb92def042a3636ed47f25a30bd553788e5191e; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <e9a490937942f18205dac7b6b192975ef1369ae1; version=a000e9a02b5885b1b69f691c80e346d102f94a88 <fb09d8b80046216646f1a344410cfa9cfa6c6c7c

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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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