HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-43442
HIGH

CVE-2026-43442

Published: May 8, 2026· Updated: May 12, 2026

7.1
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:

io_uring: fix physical SQE bounds check for SQE_MIXED 128-byte ops

When IORING_SETUP_SQE_MIXED is used without IORING_SETUP_NO_SQARRAY,

the boundary check for 128-byte SQE operations in io_init_req()

validated the logical SQ head position rather than the physical SQE

index.

The existing check:

!(ctx->cached_sq_head & (ctx->sq_entries - 1))

ensures the logical position isn't at the end of the ring, which is

correct for NO_SQARRAY rings where physical == logical. However, when

sq_array is present, an unprivileged user can remap any logical

position to an arbitrary physical index via sq_array. Setting

sq_array[N] = sq_entries - 1 places a 128-byte operation at the last

physical SQE slot, causing the 128-byte memcpy in

io_uring_cmd_sqe_copy() to read 64 bytes past the end of the SQE

array.

Replace the cached_sq_head alignment check with a direct validation

of the physical SQE index, which correctly handles both sq_array and

NO_SQARRAY cases.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-43442 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), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.1.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

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

Affected Vendors & Products

Mentioned vendors (from description):
Linux
CPE data not yet available in NVD for this CVE.

Exploit & PoC Resources

NO KNOWN EXPLOITNo public exploit confirmed at this time
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All References (2)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-43442
CVSS Score7.1 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.01%
PublishedMay 8, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-43442 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.