Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-43292

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-08
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.75 / 6.18.16 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: mm/vmalloc: prevent RCU stalls in kasan_release_vmalloc_node When CONFIG_PAGE_OWNER is enabled, freeing KASAN shadow pages during vmalloc cleanup triggers expensive stack unwinding that acquires RCU read locks. Processing a large purge_list without rescheduling can cause the task to hold CPU for extended periods (10+ seconds), leading to RCU stalls and potential OOM conditions. The issue manifests in purge_vmap_node() -> kasan_release_vmalloc_node() where iterating through hundreds or thousands of vmap_area entries and freeing their associated shadow pages causes: rcu: INFO: rcu_preempt detected stalls on CPUs/tasks: rcu: Tasks blocked on level-0 rcu_node (CPUs 0-1): P6229/1:b..l ... task:kworker/0:17 state:R running task stack:28840 pid:6229 ... kasan_release_vmalloc_node+0x1ba/0xad0 mm/vmalloc.c:2299 purge_vmap_node+0x1ba/0xad0 mm/vmalloc.c:2299 Each call to kasan_release_vmalloc() can free many pages, and with page_owner tracking, each free triggers save_stack() which performs stack unwinding under RCU read lock. Without yielding, this creates an unbounded RCU critical section. Add periodic cond_resched() calls within the loop to allow: - RCU grace periods to complete - Other tasks to run - Scheduler to preempt when needed The fix uses need_resched() for immediate response under load, with a batch count of 32 as a guaranteed upper bound to prevent worst-case stalls even under light load.

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:>= 6.9, < 6.12.75>= 6.13, < 6.18.16>= 6.19, < 6.19.6

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 6.12.75 / 6.18.16 / 6.19.6 or later
Fixed in 6.12.756.18.166.19.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to kernel 6.12.75 (for 6.9-6.12.x), 6.18.16 (for 6.13-6.17.x), or 6.19.6 (for 6.19.x)

  1. Identify the affected kernel version using `uname -r` and compare against the vulnerable ranges: >= 6.9 && < 6.12.75, >= 6.13 && < 6.18.16, or >= 6.19 && < 6.19.6
  2. If running a distribution kernel, check if the distribution vendor has released a kernel update that includes this fix (the commit 1afe45f89d54b7183768ebbbbf14238ec187ab5c)
  3. Apply the vendor patch by upgrading the kernel package to a version that includes the fix
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. If unable to upgrade immediately and CONFIG_PAGE_OWNER is enabled, consider temporarily disabling it via kernel config if the system is experiencing RCU stalls (this is a workaround, not a fix)
Caveat Kernel upgrades are routine maintenance with minimal risk; this is a bug fix with performance improvements that should not break existing functionality

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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Free · runs locally
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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-2026-43292 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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