What is CVE-2026-43481?

CVE-2026-43481 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 6.13 onward and patched in 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and 7.0. CVE-2026-43481 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-43481?

CVE-2026-43481 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. 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-2026-43481?

Yes, CVE-2026-43481 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and 7.0. If you are running Linux kernel 6.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-43481 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-43481 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-43481

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net-shapers: don't free reply skb after genlmsg_reply() genlmsg_reply() hands the reply skb to netlink, and netlink_unicast() consumes it on all return paths, whether the skb is queued successfully or freed on an error path. net_shaper_nl_get_doit() and net_shaper_nl_cap_get_doit() currently jump to free_msg after genlmsg_reply() fails and call nlmsg_free(msg), which can hit the same skb twice. Return the genlmsg_reply() error directly and keep free_msg only for pre-reply failures.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-05-13

Last modified 2026-05-22

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 6.13 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.18.19, 6.19.9, 7.0 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.13

Fixed in

✓ 6.18.19 6.18.x ✓ 6.19.9 6.19.x ✓ 7.0

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-43481 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57885276cc16a2e2b76282c808a4e84cbecb3aae
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83f7b54242d0abbfce35a55c01322f50962ed3ee
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8738dcc844fff7d0157ee775230e95df3b1884d7
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-43481

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-05-13

Modified 2026-05-22

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-43481?

CVE-2026-43481 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.13 onward and has been patched in 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and 7.0. CVE-2026-43481 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-43481?

CVE-2026-43481 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-2026-43481?

Yes — CVE-2026-43481 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.19, 6.19.9 and 7.0. If you are running Linux kernel 6.13 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-43481 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2026-43481 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.