CVE-2026-43090
Published: May 6, 2026· Updated: May 6, 2026
Official Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
xfrm: fix refcount leak in xfrm_migrate_policy_find
syzkaller reported a memory leak in xfrm_policy_alloc:
BUG: memory leak
unreferenced object 0xffff888114d79000 (size 1024):
comm "syz.1.17", pid 931
...
xfrm_policy_alloc+0xb3/0x4b0 net/xfrm/xfrm_policy.c:432
The root cause is a double call to xfrm_pol_hold_rcu() in
xfrm_migrate_policy_find(). The lookup function already returns
a policy with held reference, making the second call redundant.
Remove the redundant xfrm_pol_hold_rcu() call to fix the refcount
imbalance and prevent the memory leak.
Found by Linux Verification Center (linuxtesting.org) with Syzkaller.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-43090 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires some privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (4)
Quick Facts
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-43090 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts