CVE-2026-43442 | io_uring: fix physical SQE bounds check for SQE_MIXED 128-byte ops

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: fix physical SQE bounds check for SQE_MIXED 128-byte ops When IORING_SETUP_SQE_MIXED is used without IORING_SETUP_NO_SQARRAY, the boundary check for 128-byte SQE operations in io_init_req() validated the logical SQ head position rather than the physical SQE index. The existing check: !(ctx->cached_sq_head & (ctx->sq_entries - 1)) ensures the logical position isn't at the end of the ring, which is correct for NO_SQARRAY rings where physical == logical. However, when sq_array is present, an unprivileged user can remap any logical position to an arbitrary physical index via sq_array. Setting sq_array[N] = sq_entries - 1 places a 128-byte operation at the last physical SQE slot, causing the 128-byte memcpy in io_uring_cmd_sqe_copy() to read 64 bytes past the end of the SQE array. Replace the cached_sq_head alignment check with a direct validation of the physical SQE index, which correctly handles both sq_array and NO_SQARRAY cases.

Published: 2026-05-08 Last update: 2026-05-21 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-43442 is rated Low Risk (29.5/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.13%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-43442

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.02% 0.13% +0.11%
2 2026-05-09 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-43442

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.2 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-43442

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-43442

GHSA-cmw3-52p3-wrx5 · Severity: high — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: fix physical SQE...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-43442

vendor priority summary link
debian unimportant CVE-2026-43442 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-43442
redhat — — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-43442
suse medium CVE-2026-43442 severity moderate: SUSE including 21 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 198 product×package rows across 39 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7, SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP4-LTSS, … (39 product lines)): Known Not Affected 198. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-43442/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-43442 medium priority: Ubuntu including 161 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1449 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1048, ignored 169, not-affected 144, released 83, needs-triage 5. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-43442

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-43442

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 6.19.9 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.0 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.0:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-43442

cvelogic Threat Intelligence