Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-43432
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 · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: xhci: Fix memory leak in xhci_disable_slot() xhci_alloc_command() allocates a command structure and, when the second argument is true, also allocates a completion structure. Currently, the error handling path in xhci_disable_slot() only frees the command structure using kfree(), causing the completion structure to leak. Use xhci_free_command() instead of kfree(). xhci_free_command() correctly frees both the command structure and the associated completion structure. Since the command structure is allocated with zero-initialization, command->in_ctx is NULL and will not be erroneously freed by xhci_free_command(). This bug was found using an experimental static analysis tool we are developing. The tool is based on the LLVM framework and is specifically designed to detect memory management issues. It is currently under active development and not yet publicly available, but we plan to open-source it after our research is published. The bug was originally detected on v6.13-rc1 using our static analysis tool, and we have verified that the issue persists in the latest mainline kernel. We performed build testing on x86_64 with allyesconfig using GCC=11.4.0. Since triggering these error paths in xhci_disable_slot() requires specific hardware conditions or abnormal state, we were unable to construct a test case to reliably trigger these specific error paths at runtime.
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 analysisAllocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.
General guidance for the memory leak 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
>= 4.19.221, < 4.20>= 5.4.165, < 5.5>= 5.10.85, < 5.10.253>= 5.15.8, < 5.15.203>= 5.16, < 6.1.167>= 6.2, < 6.6.130>= 6.7, < 6.12.78>= 6.13, < 6.18.19>= 6.19, < 6.19.9= 7.0CVSS 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 · scoped4.205.55.10.253
Linux Kernel 5.15.203 (or 5.10.253, 5.5, or later respective to your branch)
- Identify the current running kernel version using `uname -r`
- Check if the version falls within affected ranges: 4.19.221-4.19.x, 5.4.165-5.4.x, 5.10.85-5.10.x, 5.15.8-5.15.x
- If affected, update the kernel package to a patched version: 5.15.203 or later for the 5.15.y branch, 5.10.253 or later for the 5.10.y branch, 5.5 or later for the 5.4.y branch
- On Debian/Ubuntu: `sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade linux-image-generic`
- On RHEL/CentOS: `sudo yum update kernel`
- On Fedora: `sudo dnf update kernel`
- Reboot the system to load the fixed kernel: `sudo reboot`
- Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and the presence of the patch in `/proc/version` or by examining the source if using a custom kernel
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-43432 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-43432 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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