CVE-2026-43465Network attack vector

Remote memory corruption via skipped XDP fragment counting

Published May 8, 2026 · Updated May 8, 2026

Memory corruption in affected Linux Kernel releases allows remote attackers to read or corrupt kernel memory or panic mlx5e/XDP hosts. The mlx5e receive path omits tail fragments removed by bpf_xdp_pull_data() or bpf_xdp_adjust_tail() from driver accounting, then releases every original page fragment and underflows the page-pool reference count. Reachability requires a Mellanox mlx5 interface using striding receive queues and an XDP multi-buffer program; repeated traffic can expose or corrupt kernel memory, exhaust resources, or panic the host when warnings are fatal.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability0.41%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory corruption in affected Linux Kernel releases allows remote attackers to read or corrupt kernel memory or panic mlx5e/XDP hosts. The mlx5e receive path omits tail fragments removed by bpf_xdp_pull_data() or bpf_xdp_adjust_tail() from driver accounting, then releases every original page fragment and underflows the page-pool reference count. Reachability requires a Mellanox mlx5 interface using striding receive queues and an XDP multi-buffer program; repeated traffic can expose or corrupt kernel memory, exhaust resources, or panic the host when warnings are fatal.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-43465
Published
May 8, 2026
Updated
May 8, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1190, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.18
  2. Affected versionversion=87bcef158ac1faca1bd7e0104588e8e2956d10be <043bd62f748bc9fd98154037aa598cffbd3c667c
  3. Affected versionversion=87bcef158ac1faca1bd7e0104588e8e2956d10be <7d7342a18fadcdb70a63b3c930dc63528ce51832
  4. Affected versionversion=87bcef158ac1faca1bd7e0104588e8e2956d10be <db25c42c2e1f9c0d136420fff5e5700f7e771a6f
  5. Affected versionversion=8b051d7f530e8a5237da242fbeafef02fec6b813
  6. Affected versionversion=cb9edd583e23979ee546981be963ad5f217e8b18
  7. Affected versionversion=f2557d7fa38e9475b38588f5c124476091480f53

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.18; version=87bcef158ac1faca1bd7e0104588e8e2956d10be <043bd62f748bc9fd98154037aa598cffbd3c667c; version=87bcef158ac1faca1bd7e0104588e8e2956d10be <7d7342a18fadcdb70a63b3c930dc63528ce51832; version=87bcef158ac1faca1bd7e0104588e8e2956d10be <db25c42c2e1f9c0d136420fff5e5700f7e771a6f; version=8b051d7f530e8a5237da242fbeafef02fec6b813; version=cb9edd583e23979ee546981be963ad5f217e8b18; version=f2557d7fa38e9475b38588f5c124476091480f53

Published CVSS scores

9.8UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
9.8kernel.orgCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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.

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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1190Exploit Public-Facing Application
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

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