CVE-2026-43244
Last modified
CVE-2026-43244 is a medium-severity vulnerability rated 5.5/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kcm: fix zero-frag skb in frag_list on partial sendmsg error Syzkaller reported a warning in kcm_write_msgs() when processing a message with a zero-fragment skb in the frag_list. When kcm_sendmsg() fills MAX_SKB_FRAGS fragments in the current skb, it allocates a new skb (tskb) and links it into the frag_list before copying data. If the copy subsequently fails (e.g. EPSS estimates a 0.12% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kcm: fix zero-frag skb in frag_list on partial sendmsg error Syzkaller reported a warning in kcm_write_msgs() when processing a message with a zero-fragment skb in the frag_list. When kcm_sendmsg() fills MAX_SKB_FRAGS fragments in the current skb, it allocates a new skb (tskb) and links it into the frag_list before copying data. If the copy subsequently fails (e.g. -EFAULT from user memory), tskb remains in the frag_list with zero fragments: head skb (msg being assembled, NOT yet in sk_write_queue) +-----------+ | frags[17] | (MAX_SKB_FRAGS, all filled with data) | frag_list-+--> tskb +-----------+ +----------+ | frags[0] | (empty! copy failed before filling) +----------+ For SOCK_SEQPACKET with partial data already copied, the error path saves this message via partial_message for later completion. For SOCK_SEQPACKET, sock_write_iter() automatically sets MSG_EOR, so a subsequent zero-length write(fd, NULL, 0) completes the message and queues it to sk_write_queue. kcm_write_msgs() then walks the frag_list and hits: WARN_ON(!skb_shinfo(skb)->nr_frags) TCP has a similar pattern where skbs are enqueued before data copy and cleaned up on failure via tcp_remove_empty_skb(). KCM was missing the equivalent cleanup. Fix this by tracking the predecessor skb (frag_prev) when allocating a new frag_list entry. On error, if the tail skb has zero frags, use frag_prev to unlink and free it in O(1) without walking the singly-linked frag_list. frag_prev is safe to dereference because the entire message chain is only held locally (or in kcm->seq_skb) and is not added to sk_write_queue until MSG_EOR, so the send path cannot free it underneath us. Also change the WARN_ON to WARN_ON_ONCE to avoid flooding the log if the condition is somehow hit repeatedly. There are currently no KCM selftests in the kernel tree; a simple reproducer is available at [1]. [1] https://gist.github.com/mrpre/a94d431c757e8d6f168f4dd1a3749daa
Metrics
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Weakness Enumeration
Affected Software
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Update |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 4.6, < 6.12.75 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 6.13, < 6.18.16 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | >= 6.19, < 6.19.6 | — |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 7.0 | Rc1 |
References
Timeline
- Published
- Last Modified
- Status
- Analyzed
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-43244?
How severe is CVE-2026-43244?
How do I fix CVE-2026-43244?
Are you affected by CVE-2026-43244?
Run a free Strix scan to check your systems for this vulnerability.
Scan your code nowSource: NVD / NIST
