CVE-2026-43258

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: alpha: fix user-space corruption during memory compaction Alpha systems can suffer sporadic user-space crashes and heap corruption when memory compaction is enabled. Symptoms include SIGSEGV, glibc allocator failures (e.g. "unaligned tcache chunk"), and compiler internal errors. The failures disappear when compaction is disabled or when using global TLB invalidation. The root cause is insufficient TLB shootdown during page migration. Alpha relies on ASN-based MM context rollover for instruction cache coherency, but this alone is not sufficient to prevent stale data or instruction translations from surviving migration. Fix this by introducing a migration-specific helper that combines: - MM context invalidation (ASN rollover), - immediate per-CPU TLB invalidation (TBI), - synchronous cross-CPU shootdown when required. The helper is used only by migration/compaction paths to avoid changing global TLB semantics. Additionally, update flush_tlb_other(), pte_clear(), to use READ_ONCE()/WRITE_ONCE() for correct SMP memory ordering. This fixes observed crashes on both UP and SMP Alpha systems.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-05-06
Last modified 2026-05-11
CVSS version 3.1
Patch available
Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10
High
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-787

CVE-2026-43258 is a Out-of-bounds Write vulnerability

What is Out-of-bounds Write?

The product writes data past the end or before the beginning of the intended buffer. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.16 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.75, 6.18.16, 6.19.6, 7.0 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 2.6.16
Fixed in
✓ 6.12.75 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.16 6.18.x ✓ 6.19.6 6.19.x ✓ 7.0

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-43258 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-43258?

    CVE-2026-43258 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 , classified as an Out-of-bounds Write flaw (CWE-787) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.16 onward and has been patched in 6.12.75, 6.18.16, 6.19.6 and others. CVE-2026-43258 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-43258?

    CVE-2026-43258 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H .

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-43258?

    Yes — CVE-2026-43258 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.75, 6.18.16, 6.19.6 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.16 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-43258 actively exploited?

    No — CVE-2026-43258 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

  • What is Out-of-bounds Write (CWE-787)?

    The product writes data past the end or before the beginning of the intended buffer. View CWE-787 on MITRE CWE →