CVE-2026-43503

Published May 23, 2026

Last updated a day ago

CVSS high 8.8

Overview

AI description

Automated description summarized from trusted sources.

CVE-2026-43503, dubbed "DirtyClone," is a vulnerability found within the Linux kernel's networking subsystem, specifically affecting the `net/skbuff` component. The core of the issue lies in certain "frag-transfer helpers," such as `__pskb_copy_fclone()` and `skb_shift()`, which fail to correctly propagate the `SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG` bit in `skb_shinfo()->flags` when network packet fragments (skbs) are moved between source and destination. This flag is crucial as it indicates whether the packet fragments reference shared page-cache memory. This propagation failure results in a state where the destination `skb` maintains references to shared, page-cache-backed pages but incorrectly reports that it lacks shared fragments. This discrepancy can be exploited by in-place writers, such as the ESP (Encapsulating Security Payload) input processing, which relies on the `skb_has_shared_frag()` function to determine if shared pages require copying before modification. An unprivileged user could leverage this flaw, for instance, by using an `nft 'dup to <local>'` rule or other `nf_dup_ipv4()` / `xt_TEE` callers, to write into the page cache of a root-owned read-only file.

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when moving frags from source to destination. __pskb_copy_fclone() defers the rest of the shinfo metadata to skb_copy_header() after copying frag descriptors, but that helper only carries over gso_{size,segs, type} and never touches skb_shinfo()->flags; skb_shift() moves frag descriptors directly and leaves flags untouched. As a result, the destination skb keeps a reference to the same externally-owned or page-cache-backed pages while reporting skb_has_shared_frag() as false. The mismatch is harmful in any in-place writer that uses skb_has_shared_frag() to decide whether shared pages must be detoured through skb_cow_data(). ESP input is one such writer (esp4.c, esp6.c), and a single nft 'dup to <local>' rule -- or any other nf_dup_ipv4() / xt_TEE caller -- is enough to land a pskb_copy()'d skb in esp_input() with the marker stripped, letting an unprivileged user write into the page cache of a root-owned read-only file via authencesn-ESN stray writes. Set SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG on the destination whenever frag descriptors were actually moved from the source. skb_copy() and skb_copy_expand() share skb_copy_header() too but linearize all paged data into freshly allocated head storage and emerge with nr_frags == 0, so skb_has_shared_frag() returns false on its own; they need no change. The same omission exists in skb_gro_receive() and skb_gro_receive_list(). The former moves the incoming skb's frag descriptors into the accumulator's last sub-skb via two paths (a direct frag-move loop and the head_frag + memcpy path); the latter chains the incoming skb whole onto p's frag_list. Downstream skb_segment() reads only skb_shinfo(p)->flags, and skb_segment_list() reuses each sub-skb's shinfo as the nskb -- both p and lp must carry the marker. The same omission also exists in tcp_clone_payload(), which builds an MTU probe skb by moving frag descriptors from skbs on sk_write_queue into a freshly allocated nskb. The helper falls into the same family and warrants the same fix for consistency; no TCP TX-side in-place writer is currently known to reach a user page through this gap, but a future consumer depending on the marker would regress silently. The same omission exists in skb_segment(): the per-iteration flag merge takes only head_skb's flag, and the inner switch that rebinds frag_skb to list_skb on head_skb-frags exhaustion does not fold the new frag_skb's flag into nskb. Fold frag_skb's flag at both sites so segments drawing frags from frag_list members carry the marker.
Source
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD status
Analyzed
Products
linux_kernel

Risk scores

CVSS 3.1

Type
Secondary
Base score
8.8
Impact score
6
Exploitability score
2
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Severity
HIGH

Weaknesses

nvd@nist.gov
NVD-CWE-noinfo

Social media

Hype score is a measure of social media activity compared against trending CVEs from the past 12 months. Max score 100.

Hype score

4

  1. Acaba de confirmarse: una nueva vulnerabilidad en el núcleo de Linux llamada DirtyClone, que permite a los atacantes escalar privilegios y reescribir ejecutables en memoria sin dejar rastro en el disco, con un exploit ya disponible para CVE-2026-43503. DirtyClone está https://

    @BotBauR

    27 Jun 2026

    112 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    0 Likes

    0 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    0 Quotes

  2. - Copy Fail (CVE-2026-31431) - DirtyFrag (CVE-2026-43284 and CVE-2026-43500) - Fragnesia (CVE-2026-46300) - DirtyClone（CVE-2026-43503）&lt;- New https://t.co/dHXh8SMFHa

    @hakkadaikon

    27 Jun 2026

    1203 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    2 Likes

    3 Bookmarks

    0 Replies

    1 Quote

  3. CVE-2026-46331 CVE-2026-43503 アルマリナックス対応済み

    @hacker_infra

    26 Jun 2026

    206 Impressions

    0 Retweets

    2 Likes

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  4. 🚨 Successful PoC for Linux Kernel CVE-2026-43503 (DirtyFrag variant). @JFrogSecurity researchers successfully developed a privilege escalation exploit for CVE-2026-43503, a newly discovered DirtyFrag variant we dubbed "DirtyClone". The vulnerability was patched and merged in

    @jfrog

    26 Jun 2026

    410 Impressions

    1 Retweet

    1 Like

    0 Bookmarks

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    0 Quotes

  5. Three high-severity CVEs hit enterprise and dev stacks today: CVE-2026-12957 lets a malicious repo silently execute code via Amazon Q Developer's MCP config, exfiltrating AWS credentials; CVE-2026-43503 (DirtyClone, CVSS 8.8) gives Linux local users root via cloned network

    @XavierRiveraX

    26 Jun 2026

    76 Impressions

    0 Retweets

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  6. Our CTI team identified a lot of activities targeting Linux Kernel (CVE-2026-43503) https://t.co/8mR3ngQvwi

    @vuldb

    24 May 2026

    72 Impressions

    1 Retweet

    1 Like

    0 Bookmarks

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Configurations

Related CVEs

  1. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ibmveth: Disable GSO for packets with small MSS Some physical adapters on Power systems do not support segmentation offload when the MSS is less than 224 bytes. Attempting to send such packets causes the adapter to freeze, stopping all traffic until manually reset. Implement ndo_features_check to disable GSO for packets with small MSS values. The network stack will perform software segmentation instead. The 224-byte minimum matches ibmvnic commit <f10b09ef687f> ("ibmvnic: Enforce stronger sanity checks on GSO packets") which uses the same physical adapters in SEA configurations. The issue occurs specifically when the hardware attempts to perform segmentation (gso_segs > 1) with a small MSS. Single-segment GSO packets (gso_segs == 1) do not trigger the problematic LSO code path and are transmitted normally without segmentation. Add an ndo_features_check callback to disable GSO when MSS < 224 bytes. Also call vlan_features_check() to ensure proper handling of VLAN packets, particularly QinQ (802.1ad) configurations where the hardware parser may not support certain offload features. Validated using iptables to force small MSS values. Without the fix, the adapter freezes. With the fix, packets are segmented in software and transmission succeeds. Comprehensive regression testing completedd (MSS tests, performance, stability).•CVE-2026-46273
  2. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: coresight: tmc-etr: Fix race condition between sysfs and perf mode When trying to run perf and sysfs mode simultaneously, the WARN_ON() in tmc_etr_enable_hw() is triggered sometimes: WARNING: CPU: 42 PID: 3911571 at drivers/hwtracing/coresight/coresight-tmc-etr.c:1060 tmc_etr_enable_hw+0xc0/0xd8 [coresight_tmc] [..snip..] Call trace: tmc_etr_enable_hw+0xc0/0xd8 [coresight_tmc] (P) tmc_enable_etr_sink+0x11c/0x250 [coresight_tmc] (L) tmc_enable_etr_sink+0x11c/0x250 [coresight_tmc] coresight_enable_path+0x1c8/0x218 [coresight] coresight_enable_sysfs+0xa4/0x228 [coresight] enable_source_store+0x58/0xa8 [coresight] dev_attr_store+0x20/0x40 sysfs_kf_write+0x4c/0x68 kernfs_fop_write_iter+0x120/0x1b8 vfs_write+0x2c8/0x388 ksys_write+0x74/0x108 __arm64_sys_write+0x24/0x38 el0_svc_common.constprop.0+0x64/0x148 do_el0_svc+0x24/0x38 el0_svc+0x3c/0x130 el0t_64_sync_handler+0xc8/0xd0 el0t_64_sync+0x1ac/0x1b0 ---[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]--- Since the enablement of sysfs mode is separeted into two critical regions, one for sysfs buffer allocation and another for hardware enablement, it's possible to race with the perf mode. Fix this by double check whether the perf mode's been used before enabling the hardware in sysfs mode. mode: [sysfs mode] [perf mode] tmc_etr_get_sysfs_buffer() spin_lock(&drvdata->spinlock) [sysfs buffer allocation] spin_unlock(&drvdata->spinlock) spin_lock(&drvdata->spinlock) tmc_etr_enable_hw() drvdata->etr_buf = etr_perf->etr_buf spin_unlock(&drvdata->spinlock) spin_lock(&drvdata->spinlock) tmc_etr_enable_hw() WARN_ON(drvdata->etr_buf) // WARN sicne etr_buf initialized at the perf side spin_unlock(&drvdata->spinlock) With this fix, we retain the check for CS_MODE_PERF in get_etr_sysfs_buf. This ensures we verify whether the perf mode's already running before we actually allocate the buffer. Then we can save the time of allocating/freeing the sysfs buffer if race with the perf mode.•CVE-2026-46272
  3. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: wifi: ath12k: do WoW offloads only on primary link In case of multi-link connection, WCN7850 firmware crashes due to WoW offloads enabled on both primary and secondary links. Change to do it only on primary link to fix it. Tested-on: WCN7850 hw2.0 PCI WLAN.HMT.1.1.c5-00284-QCAHMTSWPL_V1.0_V2.0_SILICONZ-1•CVE-2026-46271
  4. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: power: supply: rt9455: Fix use-after-free in power_supply_changed() Using the `devm_` variant for requesting IRQ _before_ the `devm_` variant for allocating/registering the `power_supply` handle, means that the `power_supply` handle will be deallocated/unregistered _before_ the interrupt handler (since `devm_` naturally deallocates in reverse allocation order). This means that during removal, there is a race condition where an interrupt can fire just _after_ the `power_supply` handle has been freed, *but* just _before_ the corresponding unregistration of the IRQ handler has run. This will lead to the IRQ handler calling `power_supply_changed()` with a freed `power_supply` handle. Which usually crashes the system or otherwise silently corrupts the memory... Note that there is a similar situation which can also happen during `probe()`; the possibility of an interrupt firing _before_ registering the `power_supply` handle. This would then lead to the nasty situation of using the `power_supply` handle *uninitialized* in `power_supply_changed()`. Fix this racy use-after-free by making sure the IRQ is requested _after_ the registration of the `power_supply` handle.•CVE-2026-46270
  5. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pinctrl: canaan: k230: Fix NULL pointer dereference when parsing devicetree When probing the k230 pinctrl driver, the kernel triggers a NULL pointer dereference. The crash trace showed: [ 0.732084] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000068 [ 0.740737] ... [ 0.776296] epc : k230_pinctrl_probe+0x1be/0x4fc In k230_pinctrl_parse_functions(), we attempt to retrieve the device pointer via info->pctl_dev->dev, but info->pctl_dev is only initialized after k230_pinctrl_parse_dt() completes. At the time of DT parsing, info->pctl_dev is still NULL, leading to the invalid dereference of info->pctl_dev->dev. Use the already available device pointer from platform_device instead of accessing through uninitialized pctl_dev.•CVE-2026-46269

References

Sources include official advisories and independent security research.