CVE-2026-43268Public exploit

Kernel crash via untyped HFS+ special inode

Published May 6, 2026 · Updated May 6, 2026

Denial of service in Linux Kernel HFS+ allows local users to crash the kernel by opening a filesystem special inode. The HFS+ inode reader leaves metadata-only special inodes without a valid file-type mode, so VFS may_open() reaches a BUG check instead of treating them as regular files. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to open an HFS+ special inode; the reported consequence is a kernel crash and system outage.

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

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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Linux Kernel HFS+ allows local users to crash the kernel by opening a filesystem special inode. The HFS+ inode reader leaves metadata-only special inodes without a valid file-type mode, so VFS may_open() reaches a BUG check instead of treating them as regular files. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to open an HFS+ special inode; the reported consequence is a kernel crash and system outage.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-43268
Published
May 6, 2026
Updated
May 6, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
Unavailable
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=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <67407d6abc9520a8a4661285b3ed294eb73ff6e7
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <676bc99d0b3e356cdfec5d8204518e1aac14ec84
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <799c492a619a10322543d13e6d2a6d27335c868c
  4. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9353d4ee26dc33f6ada1646e84660f4c59189763
  5. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d209ebaee93fc5089101d34d1b38a91d7abb03fd
  6. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <dcac5582f90b55a267d89769073c5651990b2ec5
  7. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <de9affb698d5034888314880736925c39d6d048e
  8. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ed8889ca21b6ab37bc1435c4009ce37a79acb9e6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <67407d6abc9520a8a4661285b3ed294eb73ff6e7; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <676bc99d0b3e356cdfec5d8204518e1aac14ec84; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <799c492a619a10322543d13e6d2a6d27335c868c; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9353d4ee26dc33f6ada1646e84660f4c59189763; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d209ebaee93fc5089101d34d1b38a91d7abb03fd; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <dcac5582f90b55a267d89769073c5651990b2ec5; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <de9affb698d5034888314880736925c39d6d048e; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ed8889ca21b6ab37bc1435c4009ce37a79acb9e6

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS: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 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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

Public exploit references

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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