dbcve.org
Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-43015

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-01
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 4.15 / 4.20 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: macb: fix clk handling on PCI glue driver removal platform_device_unregister() may still want to use the registered clks during runtime resume callback. Note that there is a commit d82d5303c4c5 ("net: macb: fix use after free on rmmod") that addressed the similar problem of clk vs platform device unregistration but just moved the bug to another place. Save the pointers to clks into local variables for reuse after platform device is unregistered. BUG: KASAN: use-after-free in clk_prepare+0x5a/0x60 Read of size 8 at addr ffff888104f85e00 by task modprobe/597 CPU: 2 PID: 597 Comm: modprobe Not tainted 6.1.164+ #114 Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.1-0-g3208b098f51a-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014 Call Trace: <TASK> dump_stack_lvl+0x8d/0xba print_report+0x17f/0x496 kasan_report+0xd9/0x180 clk_prepare+0x5a/0x60 macb_runtime_resume+0x13d/0x410 [macb] pm_generic_runtime_resume+0x97/0xd0 __rpm_callback+0xc8/0x4d0 rpm_callback+0xf6/0x230 rpm_resume+0xeeb/0x1a70 __pm_runtime_resume+0xb4/0x170 bus_remove_device+0x2e3/0x4b0 device_del+0x5b3/0xdc0 platform_device_del+0x4e/0x280 platform_device_unregister+0x11/0x50 pci_device_remove+0xae/0x210 device_remove+0xcb/0x180 device_release_driver_internal+0x529/0x770 driver_detach+0xd4/0x1a0 bus_remove_driver+0x135/0x260 driver_unregister+0x72/0xb0 pci_unregister_driver+0x26/0x220 __do_sys_delete_module+0x32e/0x550 do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 </TASK> Allocated by task 519: kasan_save_stack+0x2c/0x50 kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30 __kasan_kmalloc+0x8e/0x90 __clk_register+0x458/0x2890 clk_hw_register+0x1a/0x60 __clk_hw_register_fixed_rate+0x255/0x410 clk_register_fixed_rate+0x3c/0xa0 macb_probe+0x1d8/0x42e [macb_pci] local_pci_probe+0xd7/0x190 pci_device_probe+0x252/0x600 really_probe+0x255/0x7f0 __driver_probe_device+0x1ee/0x330 driver_probe_device+0x4c/0x1f0 __driver_attach+0x1df/0x4e0 bus_for_each_dev+0x15d/0x1f0 bus_add_driver+0x486/0x5e0 driver_register+0x23a/0x3d0 do_one_initcall+0xfd/0x4d0 do_init_module+0x18b/0x5a0 load_module+0x5663/0x7950 __do_sys_finit_module+0x101/0x180 do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8 Freed by task 597: kasan_save_stack+0x2c/0x50 kasan_set_track+0x21/0x30 kasan_save_free_info+0x2a/0x50 __kasan_slab_free+0x106/0x180 __kmem_cache_free+0xbc/0x320 clk_unregister+0x6de/0x8d0 macb_remove+0x73/0xc0 [macb_pci] pci_device_remove+0xae/0x210 device_remove+0xcb/0x180 device_release_driver_internal+0x529/0x770 driver_detach+0xd4/0x1a0 bus_remove_driver+0x135/0x260 driver_unregister+0x72/0xb0 pci_unregister_driver+0x26/0x220 __do_sys_delete_module+0x32e/0x550 do_syscall_64+0x35/0x80 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x6e/0xd8

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-416

Memory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.

General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 4.14.249, < 4.15>= 4.19.209, < 4.20>= 5.4.150, < 5.5>= 5.10.70, < 5.10.253>= 5.14.9, < 5.15>= 5.15.1, < 5.15.203>= 5.16, < 6.1.168>= 6.2, < 6.6.134>= 6.7, < 6.12.81>= 6.13, < 6.18.22>= 6.19, < 6.19.12= 5.15

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 4.15 / 4.20 / 5.5 or later
Fixed in 4.154.205.5
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

4.15, 4.20, 5.5, or 5.10.253 (depending on which major version branch you are on)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Based on the current kernel version, determine which upgrade path applies from: 4.14 -> 4.15, 4.19 -> 4.20, 5.4 -> 5.5, or 5.10 -> 5.10.253
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the fixed version for your branch (4.15, 4.20, 5.5, or 5.10.253 or later)
  4. Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking that the macb_pci module no longer triggers use-after-free on removal
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting the system and could introduce compatibility changes with existing drivers or user-space software; ensure application compatibility testing is performed

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $3,200. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-43015 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-43015 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data