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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-43065

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-05
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.15.203 / 6.1.168 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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: ext4: always drain queued discard work in ext4_mb_release() While reviewing recent ext4 patch[1], Sashiko raised the following concern[2]: > If the filesystem is initially mounted with the discard option, > deleting files will populate sbi->s_discard_list and queue > s_discard_work. If it is then remounted with nodiscard, the > EXT4_MOUNT_DISCARD flag is cleared, but the pending s_discard_work is > neither cancelled nor flushed. [1] https://lore.kernel.org/r/[email protected]/ [2] https://sashiko.dev/#/patchset/20260319094545.19291-1-qiang.zhang%40linux.dev The concern was valid, but it had nothing to do with the patch[1]. One of the problems with Sashiko in its current (early) form is that it will detect pre-existing issues and report it as a problem with the patch that it is reviewing. In practice, it would be hard to hit deliberately (unless you are a malicious syzkaller fuzzer), since it would involve mounting the file system with -o discard, and then deleting a large number of files, remounting the file system with -o nodiscard, and then immediately unmounting the file system before the queued discard work has a change to drain on its own. Fix it because it's a real bug, and to avoid Sashiko from raising this concern when analyzing future patches to mballoc.c.

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

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

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:>= 5.15, < 5.15.203>= 5.16, < 6.1.168>= 6.2, < 6.6.131>= 6.7, < 6.12.80>= 6.13, < 6.18.21>= 6.19, < 6.19.11= 7.0

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
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 5.15.203 / 6.1.168 / 6.6.131 or later
Fixed in 5.15.2036.1.1686.6.131
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel >= 5.15.203 (if on 5.15.x), >= 6.1.168 (if on 6.1.x), >= 6.6.131 (if on 6.2-6.6.x), or >= 6.12.80 (if on 6.7+)

  1. Identify your current Linux kernel version using `uname -r`
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (e.g., 5.15.x, 6.1.x, 6.2.x, 6.7.x)
  3. Upgrade to a kernel version that includes the fix: for 5.15.x series use >= 5.15.203, for 6.1.x series use >= 6.1.168, for 6.6.x series use >= 6.6.131, or for 6.7+ series use >= 6.12.80
  4. Update your package manager repository and install the new kernel package (e.g., `apt update && apt upgrade` for Debian/Ubuntu, or `yum update` for RHEL/CentOS)
  5. Reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the kernel version after reboot using `uname -r` to confirm the fix is applied
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require driver recompilation or system restart; ensure compatibility with existing system configuration before upgrading

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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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-2026-43065 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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