CVE-2026-43121

MEDIUM EPSS 0.5%
Published May 6, 20261mo ago · Modified Jun 17, 20262w ago
4.7 CVSS 3.1
Medium
Find Similar
Published May 6, 2026 1mo ago
Last Modified Jun 17, 2026 2w ago

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring/zcrx: fix user_ref race between scrub and refill paths The io_zcrx_put_niov_uref() function uses a non-atomic check-then-decrement pattern (atomic_read followed by separate atomic_dec) to manipulate user_refs. This is serialized against other callers by rq_lock, but io_zcrx_scrub() modifies the same counter with atomic_xchg() WITHOUT holding rq_lock. On SMP systems, the following race exists: CPU0 (refill, holds rq_lock) CPU1 (scrub, no rq_lock) put_niov_uref: atomic_read(uref) - 1 // window opens atomic_xchg(uref, 0) - 1 return_niov_freelist(niov) [PUSH #1] // window closes atomic_dec(uref) - wraps to -1 returns true return_niov(niov) return_niov_freelist(niov) [PUSH #2: DOUBLE-FREE] The same niov is pushed to the freelist twice, causing free_count to exceed nr_iovs. Subsequent freelist pushes then perform an out-of-bounds write (a u32 value) past the kvmalloc'd freelist array into the adjacent slab object. Fix this by replacing the non-atomic read-then-dec in io_zcrx_put_niov_uref() with an atomic_try_cmpxchg loop that atomically tests and decrements user_refs. This makes the operation safe against concurrent atomic_xchg from scrub without requiring scrub to acquire rq_lock. [pavel: removed a warning and a comment]

CVSS Details

Base Score
4.7
Exploitability
1.0
Impact
3.6
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Attack Vector Local
Attack Complexity High
Privileges Required Low
User Interaction None
Scope Unchanged
Confidentiality None
Integrity None
Availability High

Threat Intelligence

EPSS Exploit Probability
0.5% percentile
Exploit & Patch Status
No Known Exploit
Patch Available

Weaknesses 1

CWE-362

Affected Products 2

VendorProductVersionRange
linuxlinux_kernel*≥6.15  –  <6.18.16
linuxlinux_kernel*≥6.19  –  <6.19.6

References 3

  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/003049b1c4fb8aabb93febb7d1e49004f6ad653b
    Patch
  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/485dc691257b96e6d3bdc25b0eff2daadcc5c46c
    Patch
  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a94f096e28bfc7975163a6b80f1c8f323efe317a
    Patch

Remediation

  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/003049b1c4fb8aabb93febb7d1e49004f6ad653b
    Patch
  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/485dc691257b96e6d3bdc25b0eff2daadcc5c46c
    Patch
  • git.kernel.org https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a94f096e28bfc7975163a6b80f1c8f323efe317a
    Patch