CVE-2026-43321

Local privilege escalation via BPF register liveness misclassification

Published May 8, 2026 · Updated May 8, 2026

Privilege escalation in the Linux kernel 6.19 through 6.19.5 allows local users to execute code with kernel privileges via a crafted BPF program. The BPF verifier's compute_insn_live_regs() function fails to mark the destination register of an indirect gotox instruction as used, producing an incorrect register-liveness result. The attack requires local low-privileged access and the ability to invoke bpf() with BPF_PROG_LOAD and an instruction-array map; no user interaction is required.

CVSS severity7.8
High
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

Privilege escalation in the Linux kernel 6.19 through 6.19.5 allows local users to execute code with kernel privileges via a crafted BPF program. The BPF verifier's compute_insn_live_regs() function fails to mark the destination register of an indirect gotox instruction as used, producing an incorrect register-liveness result. The attack requires local low-privileged access and the ability to invoke bpf() with BPF_PROG_LOAD and an instruction-array map; no user interaction is required.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-43321
Published
May 8, 2026
Updated
May 8, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 8, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 8, 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 <7beae54111c34ca63357ef120e115889b915beb5
  2. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d1aab1ca576c90192ba961094d51b0be6355a4d6
  3. Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <df02c3ff3be4bf998812c8c8e79d10db1329d535

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <7beae54111c34ca63357ef120e115889b915beb5; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <d1aab1ca576c90192ba961094d51b0be6355a4d6; version=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <df02c3ff3be4bf998812c8c8e79d10db1329d535

Published CVSS scores

7.8kernel.orgCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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 exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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