HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-43009
HIGH

CVE-2026-43009

Published: May 1, 2026· Updated: May 7, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.01%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:2.1th

Official Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

bpf: Fix incorrect pruning due to atomic fetch precision tracking

When backtrack_insn encounters a BPF_STX instruction with BPF_ATOMIC

and BPF_FETCH, the src register (or r0 for BPF_CMPXCHG) also acts as

a destination, thus receiving the old value from the memory location.

The current backtracking logic does not account for this. It treats

atomic fetch operations the same as regular stores where the src

register is only an input. This leads the backtrack_insn to fail to

propagate precision to the stack location, which is then not marked

as precise!

Later, the verifier's path pruning can incorrectly consider two states

equivalent when they differ in terms of stack state. Meaning, two

branches can be treated as equivalent and thus get pruned when they

should not be seen as such.

Fix it as follows: Extend the BPF_LDX handling in backtrack_insn to

also cover atomic fetch operations via is_atomic_fetch_insn() helper.

When the fetch dst register is being tracked for precision, clear it,

and propagate precision over to the stack slot. For non-stack memory,

the precision walk stops at the atomic instruction, same as regular

BPF_LDX. This covers all fetch variants.

Before:

0: (b7) r1 = 8 ; R1=8

1: (7b) *(u64 *)(r10 -8) = r1 ; R1=8 R10=fp0 fp-8=8

2: (b7) r2 = 0 ; R2=0

3: (db) r2 = atomic64_fetch_add((u64 *)(r10 -8), r2) ; R2=8 R10=fp0 fp-8=mmmmmmmm

4: (bf) r3 = r10 ; R3=fp0 R10=fp0

5: (0f) r3 += r2

mark_precise: frame0: last_idx 5 first_idx 0 subseq_idx -1

mark_precise: frame0: regs=r2 stack= before 4: (bf) r3 = r10

mark_precise: frame0: regs=r2 stack= before 3: (db) r2 = atomic64_fetch_add((u64 *)(r10 -8), r2)

mark_precise: frame0: regs=r2 stack= before 2: (b7) r2 = 0

6: R2=8 R3=fp8

6: (b7) r0 = 0 ; R0=0

7: (95) exit

After:

0: (b7) r1 = 8 ; R1=8

1: (7b) *(u64 *)(r10 -8) = r1 ; R1=8 R10=fp0 fp-8=8

2: (b7) r2 = 0 ; R2=0

3: (db) r2 = atomic64_fetch_add((u64 *)(r10 -8), r2) ; R2=8 R10=fp0 fp-8=mmmmmmmm

4: (bf) r3 = r10 ; R3=fp0 R10=fp0

5: (0f) r3 += r2

mark_precise: frame0: last_idx 5 first_idx 0 subseq_idx -1

mark_precise: frame0: regs=r2 stack= before 4: (bf) r3 = r10

mark_precise: frame0: regs=r2 stack= before 3: (db) r2 = atomic64_fetch_add((u64 *)(r10 -8), r2)

mark_precise: frame0: regs= stack=-8 before 2: (b7) r2 = 0

mark_precise: frame0: regs= stack=-8 before 1: (7b) *(u64 *)(r10 -8) = r1

mark_precise: frame0: regs=r1 stack= before 0: (b7) r1 = 8

6: R2=8 R3=fp8

6: (b7) r0 = 0 ; R0=0

7: (95) exit

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-43009 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.

Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.

A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.8.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorLocal
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.Low
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityHigh
IntegrityHigh
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Affected Vendors & Products

Linux1 product
linux kernel
Source: NVD CPE · 2 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

Official Patches & Advisories

All References (2)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-43009
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.01%
Affected1 vendor
PublishedMay 1, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-43009 in threat intel feeds
  • Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts
Data sourced from NVD (NIST), CISA KEV, and EPSS (FIRST). Analysis generated by CTIWATCH.COM. CVE data is provided under the NVD usage policy.