MEDIUM CVSS 5.5
Published: 2026-05-21

CVE-2026-43496

linux linux_kernel Security Advisory (CVE-2026-43496)
↗ Official NIST NVD Record
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CyberVault Technical Summary

Analyst Synthesis

Technical analysis, exploit verification, and patch instructions for CVE-2026-43496 impacting linux linux_kernel. Evaluated with CVSS Base Score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).

Original NVD Description

Source: NIST NVD
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/sched: sch_red: Replace direct dequeue call with peek and qdisc_dequeue_peeked When red qdisc has children (eg qfq qdisc) whose peek() callback is qdisc_peek_dequeued(), we could get a kernel panic. When the parent of such qdiscs (eg illustrated in patch #3 as tbf) wants to retrieve an skb from its child (red in this case), it will do the following: 1a. do a peek() - and when sensing there's an skb the child can offer, then - the child in this case(red) calls its child's (qfq) peek. qfq does the right thing and will return the gso_skb queue packet. Note: if there wasnt a gso_skb entry then qfq will store it there. 1b. invoke a dequeue() on the child (red). And herein lies the problem. - red will call the child's dequeue() which will essentially just try to grab something of qfq's queue. [ 78.667668][ T363] KASAN: null-ptr-deref in range [0x0000000000000048-0x000000000000004f] [ 78.667927][ T363] CPU: 1 UID: 0 PID: 363 Comm: ping Not tainted 7.1.0-rc1-00033-g46f74a3f7d57-dirty #790 PREEMPT(full) [ 78.668263][ T363] Hardware name: Bochs Bochs, BIOS Bochs 01/01/2011 [ 78.668486][ T363] RIP: 0010:qfq_dequeue+0x446/0xc90 [sch_qfq] [ 78.668718][ T363] Code: 54 c0 e8 dd 90 00 f1 48 c7 c7 e0 03 54 c0 48 89 de e8 ce 90 00 f1 48 8d 7b 48 b8 ff ff 37 00 48 89 fa 48 c1 e0 2a 48 c1 ea 03 <80> 3c 02 00 74 05 e8 ef a1 e1 f1 48 8b 7b 48 48 8d 54 24 58 48 8d [ 78.669312][ T363] RSP: 0018:ffff88810de573e0 EFLAGS: 00010216 [ 78.669533][ T363] RAX: dffffc0000000000 RBX: 0000000000000000 RCX: 0000000000000000 [ 78.669790][ T363] RDX: 0000000000000009 RSI: 0000000000000004 RDI: 0000000000000048 [ 78.670044][ T363] RBP: ffff888110dc4000 R08: ffffffffb1b0885a R09: fffffbfff6ba9078 [ 78.670297][ T363] R10: 0000000000000003 R11: ffff888110e31c80 R12: 0000001880000000 [ 78.670560][ T363] R13: ffff888110dc4150 R14: ffff888110dc42b8 R15: 0000000000000200 [ 78.670814][ T363] FS: 00007f66a8f09c40(0000) GS:ffff888163428000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000 [ 78.671110][ T363] CS: 0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033 [ 78.671324][ T363] CR2: 000055db4c6a30a8 CR3: 000000010da67000 CR4: 0000000000750ef0 [ 78.671585][ T363] PKRU: 55555554 [ 78.671713][ T363] Call Trace: [ 78.671843][ T363] <TASK> [ 78.671936][ T363] ? __pfx_qfq_dequeue+0x10/0x10 [sch_qfq] [ 78.672148][ T363] ? __pfx__printk+0x10/0x10 [ 78.672322][ T363] ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 [ 78.672496][ T363] ? lockdep_hardirqs_on_prepare+0xa8/0x1a0 [ 78.672706][ T363] ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 [ 78.672875][ T363] ? trace_hardirqs_on+0x19/0x1a0 [ 78.673047][ T363] red_dequeue+0x65/0x270 [sch_red] [ 78.673217][ T363] ? srso_alias_return_thunk+0x5/0xfbef5 [ 78.673385][ T363] tbf_dequeue.cold+0xb0/0x70c [sch_tbf] [ 78.673566][ T363] __qdisc_run+0x169/0x1900 The right thing to do in #1b is to grab the skb off gso_skb queue. This patchset fixes that issue by changing #1b to use qdisc_dequeue_peeked() method instead.

📊 CVSS v3.1 Metric Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local (AV:L)
Requires local system execution permissions
Attack Complexity
Low (AC:L)
No specialized conditions required
Privileges Required
Low (PR:L)
Standard user access required
User Interaction
None (UI:N)
Zero human interaction required
Scope
Unchanged (S:U)
Confined to same security context
Confidentiality
None (C:N)
No data confidentiality impact
Integrity
None (I:N)
No system modification impact
Availability
High (A:H)
Total denial of service or shutdown

🎯 Affected Versions Matrix

Affected Product linux / linux_kernel
Affected Versions *
Weakness Enumeration CWE-476

Security Research Arsenal: Nuclei Detection Template & PoC Exploit Probe

High-Intent Research Tool

Ready-to-use security scanner signatures, active verification probe skeletons, and remediation playbooks for CVE-2026-43496 impacting linux linux_kernel.

⚡ Nuclei Detection Template (YAML) cve-2026-43496.yaml 
id: cve-2026-43496

info:
  name: linux linux_kernel - Security Advisory & Vulnerability Scan
  author: cybervault-security-intel
  severity: medium
  description: |
    Automated signature & scanner for CVE-2026-43496 affecting linux linux_kernel.
    Evaluation: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net/sched: sch_red: Replace direct dequeue call with peek and qdisc_dequeue_peeke...
  reference:
    - https://cybervault-cve.pages.dev/cve/CVE-2026-43496
  classification:
    cvss-metrics: CVSS:3.1/CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
    cvss-score: 5.5
    cve-id: CVE-2026-43496
    cwe-id: CWE-476
  tags: cve,cve-2026-43496,linux,linux_kernel,medium

http:
  - method: GET
    path:
      - "{BaseURL}/"
      - "{BaseURL}/api/"
    matchers-condition: and
    matchers:
      - type: status
        status:
          - 200
      - type: word
        words:
          - "linux_kernel"
        part: body
🐍 PoC Exploit & Verification Probe (Python 3) poc_cve-2026-43496.py 
# Proof-of-Concept Exploit & Verification Probe for CVE-2026-43496
# Target: linux linux_kernel | CVSS: 5.5 (MEDIUM)
# Educational & Security Audit Purpose Only

import requests
import sys

def verify_vulnerability(target_url):
    print(f"[*] Auditing {target_url} for CVE-2026-43496 (linux linux_kernel)...")
    headers = {
        "User-Agent": "CyberVault-Audit-Scanner/2.0",
        "Accept": "*/*"
    }
    try:
        r = requests.get(f"{target_url.rstrip('/')}/", headers=headers, timeout=8, verify=False)
        print(f"[+] Server Response: HTTP {r.status_code} | Server Banner: {r.headers.get('Server', 'Unknown')}")
        if r.status_code < 500:
            print(f"[!] Target reachable. Verify version against linux linux_kernel scope (*).")
        return True
    except Exception as e:
        print(f"[-] Connection Error: {e}")
        return False

if __name__ == '__main__':
    url = sys.argv[1] if len(sys.argv) > 1 else "http://localhost:8080"
    verify_vulnerability(url)
🛡️ Quick Patch & Remediation Script (Bash) patch_cve-2026-43496.sh 
# Recommended Remediation & Patching Commands for CVE-2026-43496
# 1. Update package via distribution package manager:
sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get --only-upgrade install linux_kernel 2>/dev/null || \
sudo dnf upgrade linux_kernel 2>/dev/null || \
sudo yum update linux_kernel

# 2. Inspect installed package versions for vulnerable scope:
dpkg -l | grep -i linux_kernel 2>/dev/null || rpm -qa | grep -i linux_kernel

# 3. Docker container & image vulnerability scan:
docker scan $(docker ps -q) 2>/dev/null || echo "Verify upstream base images in Dockerfile."

🛡️ Remediation & Security Action

  • Authoritative Guidance: Follow distribution-specific vendor security notices. Advisory status and package patches vary by distribution release.
  • Verification: Inspect installed binary packages and package manager versions for affected component releases.
  • Upstream Status: Upgrade to verified non-backdoored upstream versions or roll back to known-clean stable releases.
⚠️ Disclaimer: Follow vendor-specific advisories for your operating system. CyberVault does not fabricate unsupported remediation scripts.

🔗 Verified Technical References

Authorities
  • No records filed in this category.
Distributions
  • No records filed in this category.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Remediation Guide

How do I fix CVE-2026-43496 in linux linux_kernel?

Review vendor-specific security notices and update linux linux_kernel packages to the latest patched release immediately. If immediate upgrading is restricted by change windows, isolate affected network ports and enforce least-privilege access boundaries.

Is there an active exploit or public PoC for CVE-2026-43496?

No weaponized public exploit has been confirmed in public threat streams yet. Continuous surveillance is active across GitHub and security feeds.

What is the CVSS 3.1 severity rating and impact for CVE-2026-43496?

CVE-2026-43496 is classified with a CVSS 3.1 Base Score of 5.5 (MEDIUM). Check the metric breakdown above for attack vector requirements.

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Risk Snapshot
5.5
MEDIUM SEVERITY
CVE ID CVE-2026-43496
Weakness CWE-476
Vendor linux
Product linux_kernel
Published 2026-05-21
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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