HOMEVULNERABILITIESCVE-2026-43464
HIGH

CVE-2026-43464

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

7.5
CVSS v3.1
EPSS:0.06%probability of exploitation in 30 daysPercentile:17.7th

Official Description

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

net/mlx5e: RX, Fix XDP multi-buf frag counting for legacy RQ

XDP multi-buf programs can modify the layout of the XDP buffer when the

program calls bpf_xdp_pull_data() or bpf_xdp_adjust_tail(). The

referenced commit in the fixes tag corrected the assumption in the mlx5

driver that the XDP buffer layout doesn't change during a program

execution. However, this fix introduced another issue: the dropped

fragments still need to be counted on the driver side to avoid page

fragment reference counting issues.

Such issue can be observed with the

test_xdp_native_adjst_tail_shrnk_data selftest when using a payload of

3600 and shrinking by 256 bytes (an upcoming selftest patch): the last

fragment gets released by the XDP code but doesn't get tracked by the

driver. This results in a negative pp_ref_count during page release and

the following splat:

WARNING: include/net/page_pool/helpers.h:297 at mlx5e_page_release_fragmented.isra.0+0x4a/0x50 [mlx5_core], CPU#12: ip/3137

Modules linked in: [...]

CPU: 12 UID: 0 PID: 3137 Comm: ip Not tainted 6.19.0-rc3+ #12 NONE

Hardware name: QEMU Standard PC (Q35 + ICH9, 2009), BIOS rel-1.16.3-0-ga6ed6b701f0a-prebuilt.qemu.org 04/01/2014

RIP: 0010:mlx5e_page_release_fragmented.isra.0+0x4a/0x50 [mlx5_core]

[...]

Call Trace:

<TASK>

mlx5e_dealloc_rx_wqe+0xcb/0x1a0 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_free_rx_descs+0x7f/0x110 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_close_rq+0x50/0x60 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_close_queues+0x36/0x2c0 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_close_channel+0x1c/0x50 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_close_channels+0x45/0x80 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_safe_switch_params+0x1a5/0x230 [mlx5_core]

mlx5e_change_mtu+0xf3/0x2f0 [mlx5_core]

netif_set_mtu_ext+0xf1/0x230

do_setlink.isra.0+0x219/0x1180

rtnl_newlink+0x79f/0xb60

rtnetlink_rcv_msg+0x213/0x3a0

netlink_rcv_skb+0x48/0xf0

netlink_unicast+0x24a/0x350

netlink_sendmsg+0x1ee/0x410

__sock_sendmsg+0x38/0x60

____sys_sendmsg+0x232/0x280

___sys_sendmsg+0x78/0xb0

__sys_sendmsg+0x5f/0xb0

[...]

do_syscall_64+0x57/0xc50

This patch fixes the issue by doing page frag counting on all the

original XDP buffer fragments for all relevant XDP actions (XDP_TX ,

XDP_REDIRECT and XDP_PASS). This is basically reverting to the original

counting before the commit in the fixes tag.

As frag_page is still pointing to the original tail, the nr_frags

parameter to xdp_update_skb_frags_info() needs to be calculated

in a different way to reflect the new nr_frags.

NVD Source

Technical Analysis

CVE-2026-43464 can be exploited remotely over the network without requiring physical or adjacent access, significantly expanding the attack surface for threat actors.

The vulnerability requires no privileges and no user interaction, making it a prime target for automated exploitation campaigns and worm-like propagation.

A successful exploit results in availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.5.

CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown

Exploitability
Attack VectorNetwork
Attack ComplexityLow
Privileges Req.None
User InteractionNone
ScopeUnchanged
Impact
ConfidentialityNone
IntegrityNone
AvailabilityHigh
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/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
External links open in a new tab. Always verify in a controlled environment before use.

All References (3)

Quick Facts

CVE IDCVE-2026-43464
CVSS Score7.5 / 10
SeverityHIGH
CISA KEVNo
EPSS (30d)0.06%
PublishedMay 8, 2026

Recommended Actions

  • Apply vendor patches immediately
  • Monitor CVE-2026-43464 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.