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CVE-2026-43503

net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers

High8.8EPSS 2.0%
Published
Updated
Reserved
Assigned by
Linux

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.

Scores

CVSS scores of CVE-2026-43503, by who scored it
Scored byCVSSScoreVector
LinuxCNA (assigner)3.1High8.8CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
redhat-SADPADP (enrichment)3.1High7.0CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVDNVD · Modified3.1High8.8CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
2.0% · top 19% of all CVEs (6 Nov 2026)
CISA SSVC
Exploitation: none · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
Loading the EPSS history…

The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 8.8.

Weakness

Affected products

  • Linux · Linux

    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < fbeab9555564a1b98e8582cd106dfe46c4606991
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < 179f1852bdedc300e373e807cc102cd81feff196
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < 12401fcfb01f53ccc63ab0a3246570fe8f3105ee
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < 989214c66884d70716d83dc1d0bf5e16287bf349
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < fc6eb39c55e97df2f94ad974b8a5bbcd019da2c8
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < ff375cc75f9167168db38e0464a482d5fbc8d81d
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < 9bc9d6d6967a2239aa57af2aa53554eddd640d20
    • affected cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9 – < 48f6a5356a33dd78e7144ae1faef95ffc990aae0

  • Linux · Linux

    • affected 3.9
    • unaffected < 3.9
    • unaffected 5.10.257 – ≤ 5.10.*
    • unaffected 5.15.208 – ≤ 5.15.*
    • unaffected 6.1.174 – ≤ 6.1.*
    • unaffected 6.6.141 – ≤ 6.6.*
    • unaffected 6.12.91 – ≤ 6.12.*
    • unaffected 6.18.33 – ≤ 6.18.*
    • unaffected 7.0.10 – ≤ 7.0.*
    • unaffected 7.1 – ≤ *

References (42)

Sources

The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.

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Record last updated .