HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-43188
MEDIUM

CVE-2026-43188

Published: May 6, 2026· Updated: May 11, 2026

5.5
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.02%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:4.1th

Official Description

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

ceph: do not propagate page array emplacement errors as batch errors

When fscrypt is enabled, move_dirty_folio_in_page_array() may fail

because it needs to allocate bounce buffers to store the encrypted

versions of each folio. Each folio beyond the first allocates its bounce

buffer with GFP_NOWAIT. Failures are common (and expected) under this

allocation mode; they should flush (not abort) the batch.

However, ceph_process_folio_batch() uses the same `rc` variable for its

own return code and for capturing the return codes of its routine calls;

failing to reset `rc` back to 0 results in the error being propagated

out to the main writeback loop, which cannot actually tolerate any

errors here: once `ceph_wbc.pages` is allocated, it must be passed to

ceph_submit_write() to be freed. If it survives until the next iteration

(e.g. due to the goto being followed), ceph_allocate_page_array()'s

BUG_ON() will oops the worker.

Note that this failure mode is currently masked due to another bug

(addressed next in this series) that prevents multiple encrypted folios

from being selected for the same write.

For now, just reset `rc` when redirtying the folio to prevent errors in

move_dirty_folio_in_page_array() from propagating. Note that

move_dirty_folio_in_page_array() is careful never to return errors on

the first folio, so there is no need to check for that. After this

change, ceph_process_folio_batch() no longer returns errors; its only

remaining failure indicator is `locked_pages == 0`, which the caller

already handles correctly.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-43188 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 availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 5.5.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

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

Affected Vendors & Products

Linux1 product
linux kernel
Source: NVD CPE · 1 total CPE entries

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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Official Patches & Advisories

All References (3)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-43188
CVSS Score5.5 / 10
SeverityMEDIUM
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.02%
Affected1 vendor
PublishedMay 6, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-43188 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.