CVE-2026-43258
HighIn 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.
CVSS 3.1 score
7.8
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Weakness type
CWE-787CVE-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.
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.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/03e42b5f7ad4c2c3db8bd384bab7990d5d53c90f
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bab8d762a8dbb816b10011e13b87d1bca91e5f77
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d4ca6ca2c6f5a1d19d9014c5b36d96637846b5d6
Frequently asked questions
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 →