HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-43278
HIGH

CVE-2026-43278

Published: May 6, 2026· Updated: May 8, 2026

7.8
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.02%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:7.0th

Official Description

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

dm: clear cloned request bio pointer when last clone bio completes

Stale rq->bio values have been observed to cause double-initialization of

cloned bios in request-based device-mapper targets, leading to

use-after-free and double-free scenarios.

One such case occurs when using dm-multipath on top of a PCIe NVMe

namespace, where cloned request bios are freed during

blk_complete_request(), but rq->bio is left intact. Subsequent clone

teardown then attempts to free the same bios again via

blk_rq_unprep_clone().

The resulting double-free path looks like:

nvme_pci_complete_batch()

nvme_complete_batch()

blk_mq_end_request_batch()

blk_complete_request() // called on a DM clone request

bio_endio() // first free of all clone bios

...

rq->end_io() // end_clone_request()

dm_complete_request(tio->orig)

dm_softirq_done()

dm_done()

dm_end_request()

blk_rq_unprep_clone() // second free of clone bios

Fix this by clearing the clone request's bio pointer when the last cloned

bio completes, ensuring that later teardown paths do not attempt to free

already-released bios.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-43278 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 · 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 (8)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-43278
CVSS Score7.8 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.02%
Affected1 vendor
PublishedMay 6, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-43278 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.