CVE-2026-43331
MediumIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: x86/kexec: Disable KCOV instrumentation after load_segments() The load_segments() function changes segment registers, invalidating GS base (which KCOV relies on for per-cpu data). When CONFIG_KCOV is enabled, any subsequent instrumented C code call (e.g. native_gdt_invalidate()) begins crashing the kernel in an endless loop. To reproduce the problem, it's sufficient to do kexec on a KCOV-instrumented kernel: $ kexec -l /boot/otherKernel $ kexec -e The real-world context for this problem is enabling crash dump collection in syzkaller. For this, the tool loads a panic kernel before fuzzing and then calls makedumpfile after the panic. This workflow requires both CONFIG_KEXEC and CONFIG_KCOV to be enabled simultaneously. Adding safeguards directly to the KCOV fast-path (__sanitizer_cov_trace_pc()) is also undesirable as it would introduce an extra performance overhead. Disabling instrumentation for the individual functions would be too fragile, so disable KCOV instrumentation for the entire machine_kexec_64.c and physaddr.c. If coverage-guided fuzzing ever needs these components in the future, other approaches should be considered. The problem is not relevant for 32 bit kernels as CONFIG_KCOV is not supported there. [ bp: Space out comment for better readability. ]
CVSS 3.1 score
5.5
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.6
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.22,
6.19.12,
7.0
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-43331 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/1e3e98596c2769721ade0418434852fb3af4849a
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/917e3ad3321e75ca0223d5ccf26ceda116aa51e1
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/de05c66fab8847237a9ca216934e56d3ee837f08
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-43331?
CVE-2026-43331 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.6 onward and has been patched in 6.18.22, 6.19.12 and 7.0. CVE-2026-43331 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-2026-43331?
CVE-2026-43331 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H. -
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-43331?
Yes — CVE-2026-43331 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.22, 6.19.12 and 7.0. If you are running Linux kernel 6.6 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-43331 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-43331 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.