CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2026-43333 — bpf: reject direct access to nullable PTR_TO_BUF pointers

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: reject direct access to nullable PTR_TO_BUF pointers check_mem_access() matches PTR_TO_BUF via base_type() which strips PTR_MAYBE_NULL, allowing direct dereference without a null check. Map iterator ctx->key and ctx->value are PTR_TO_BUF | PTR_MAYBE_NULL. On stop callbacks these are NULL, causing a kernel NULL dereference. Add a type_may_be_null() guard to the PTR_TO_BUF branch, matching the existing PTR_TO_BTF_ID pattern.

Published May 8, 2026 · Updated Oct 13, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.2% (30-day exploitation probability)+1
  • Technical severity (medium)+3

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.16%
ahead of 5% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Linux
Linux and 1 more
CVSS base
5.5
Medium · 1 source(s)

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Linux Linux version 5.17≥ 5.16.11 and < 5.17≥ 5.15.37 and < 5.15.203version e982070f8970bb62e69ed7c9cafff886ed200349≥ 20b2aff4bc15bda809f994761d5719827d66c0b4 and < b0db1accbc7395657c2b79db59fa9fae0d6656f3≥ 20b2aff4bc15bda809f994761d5719827d66c0b4 and < 4f6c99dc0420f1a3d671c1b8ab8a7ac84d9cba09≥ 20b2aff4bc15bda809f994761d5719827d66c0b4 and < 63276547debc4d8a73eefb2c5273b2a905c961b0≥ 20b2aff4bc15bda809f994761d5719827d66c0b4 and < 70abd9d118da2f56beb4ec22e3a29becae373535
and 3 more ≥ 20b2aff4bc15bda809f994761d5719827d66c0b4 and < 8755066f7bd0f4ac46a29d1708c7b20894539252≥ 20b2aff4bc15bda809f994761d5719827d66c0b4 and < 21a10c06ffae24cb01fd174a7ab7736001d2ea56≥ b453361384c2db1c703dacb806d5fd36aec4ceca and < 10bc4a4dcded509c5d5c67d497900c3922c604cd
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel version 7.0-rc6≥ 5.15.37 and < 5.15.203version 7.0-rc5version 7.0-rc4version 7.0-rc3version 7.0-rc2version 7.0-rc1≥ 6.19 and < 6.19.12
and 4 more ≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.22≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.81≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.134≥ 5.16.11 and < 6.1.168
Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium 1.8 3.6 nvd@nist.gov via NIST National Vulnerability Database
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H (score shown at the top: nvd@nist.gov)

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-476 · NULL Pointer Dereference

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.16%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
  • Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)crash dumps

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 5.5
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Analyzed
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    May 8, 2026 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

7 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-476
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 6h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 6h
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No CISA SSVC assessment.
  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-43333 is "bpf: reject direct access to nullable PTR_TO_BUF pointers", rated Medium. It affects Linux (Linux); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 5.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.16% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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