{ "dataType": "CVE_RECORD", "dataVersion": "5.2", "cveMetadata": { "cveId": "CVE-2026-43438", "assignerOrgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "state": "PUBLISHED", "assignerShortName": "Linux", "dateReserved": "2026-05-01T14:12:56.009Z", "datePublished": "2026-05-08T14:22:07.980Z", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T12:27:56.866Z" }, "containers": { "cna": { "providerMetadata": { "orgId": "416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67", "shortName": "Linux", "dateUpdated": "2026-08-05T12:27:56.866Z" }, "descriptions": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nsched_ext: Remove redundant css_put() in scx_cgroup_init()\n\nThe iterator css_for_each_descendant_pre() walks the cgroup hierarchy\nunder cgroup_lock(). It does not increment the reference counts on\nyielded css structs.\n\nAccording to the cgroup documentation, css_put() should only be used\nto release a reference obtained via css_get() or css_tryget_online().\nSince the iterator does not use either of these to acquire a reference,\ncalling css_put() in the error path of scx_cgroup_init() causes a\nrefcount underflow.\n\nRemove the unbalanced css_put() to prevent a potential Use-After-Free\n(UAF) vulnerability." } ], "metrics": [ { "cvssV3_1": { "version": "3.1", "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H", "baseScore": 7.8, "baseSeverity": "HIGH" }, "scenarios": [ { "lang": "en", "value": "AV:L - The vulnerable path is reached from local userspace through BPF struct_ops scheduler registration and cgroup state, not by remote packets or adjacent/physical input.\nAC:L - An attacker with the needed BPF access can provide an ops.cgroup_init() callback that succeeds for root and fails for an existing non-root cgroup, directly triggering the bad error path without winning a race.\nPR:L - Loading and attaching sched_ext BPF struct_ops requires local BPF privileges, but these can be delegated via BPF tokens/user-namespace based capability checks in plausible deployments, so this is not necessarily real init-namespace root.\nUI:N - After the attacker has local access and the required BPF ability, exploitation is performed by their own syscalls and does not require a victim user action.\nS:U - The bug corrupts kernel cgroup/scheduler state within the same kernel security authority; it is not a VM escape or another explicit scope boundary crossing.\nC:H - The redundant css_put() can underflow the css refcount and lead to use-after-free of cgroup/task_group state, which is memory corruption that can plausibly enable kernel memory disclosure.\nI:H - A use-after-free in kernel heap-managed scheduler/cgroup objects can plausibly be shaped into arbitrary write or control-flow corruption, so integrity impact is high.\nA:H - Even without full exploitation, the refcount underflow/UAF can corrupt live kernel cgroup state and cause warnings, crashes, or panics." } ] } ], "affected": [ { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "unaffected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "kernel/sched/ext.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "8195136669661fdfe54e9a8923c33b31c92fc1da", "lessThan": "cc095cd305fddbe25a968e4a78436ff9476cf0f6", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "8195136669661fdfe54e9a8923c33b31c92fc1da", "lessThan": "6eaaa67d6998f6c30c462b140db8c062e07ec473", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "8195136669661fdfe54e9a8923c33b31c92fc1da", "lessThan": "bf50f3285eda8a0173625fcdb5f183f96e1008cd", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" }, { "version": "8195136669661fdfe54e9a8923c33b31c92fc1da", "lessThan": "1336b579f6079fb8520be03624fcd9ba443c930b", "status": "affected", "versionType": "git" } ] }, { "product": "Linux", "vendor": "Linux", "defaultStatus": "affected", "repo": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git", "programFiles": [ "kernel/sched/ext.c" ], "versions": [ { "version": "6.12", "status": "affected" }, { "version": "0", "lessThan": "6.12", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.12.78", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.12.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.18.19", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.18.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "6.19.9", "lessThanOrEqual": "6.19.*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "semver" }, { "version": "7.0", "lessThanOrEqual": "*", "status": "unaffected", "versionType": "original_commit_for_fix" } ] } ], "cpeApplicability": [ { "nodes": [ { "operator": "OR", "negate": false, "cpeMatch": [ { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.12", "versionEndExcluding": "6.12.78" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.12", "versionEndExcluding": "6.18.19" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.12", "versionEndExcluding": "6.19.9" }, { "vulnerable": true, "criteria": "cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*", "versionStartIncluding": "6.12", "versionEndExcluding": "7.0" } ] } ] } ], "references": [ { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cc095cd305fddbe25a968e4a78436ff9476cf0f6" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6eaaa67d6998f6c30c462b140db8c062e07ec473" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf50f3285eda8a0173625fcdb5f183f96e1008cd" }, { "url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1336b579f6079fb8520be03624fcd9ba443c930b" } ], "title": "sched_ext: Remove redundant css_put() in scx_cgroup_init()", "x_generator": { "engine": "bippy-1.2.0" } } } }