CVE Intelligence
Medium Memory corruption

CVE-2026-43432 — usb: xhci: Fix memory leak in xhci_disable_slot()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: xhci: Fix memory leak in xhci_disable_slot() xhci_alloc_command() allocates a command structure and, when the second argument is true, also allocates a completion structure. Currently, the error handling path in xhci_disable_slot() only frees the command structure using kfree(), causing the completion structure to leak. Use xhci_free_command() instead of kfree(). xhci_free_command() correctly frees both the command structure and the associated completion structure. Since the command structure is allocated with zero-initialization, command->in_ctx is NULL and will not be erroneously freed by xhci_free_command(). This bug was found using an experimental static analysis tool we are developing. The tool is based on the LLVM framework and is specifically designed to detect memory management issues. It is currently under active development and not yet publicly available, but we plan to open-source it after our research is published. The bug was originally detected on v6.13-rc1 using our static analysis tool, and we have verified that the issue persists in the latest mainline kernel. We performed build testing on x86_64 with allyesconfig using GCC=11.4.0. Since triggering these error paths in xhci_disable_slot() requires specific hardware conditions or abnormal state, we were unable to construct a test case to reliably trigger these specific error paths at runtime.

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 15, 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)
  • 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 ≥ 02d5a2a48bb44e7404b794df87e57588b2fd604e and < 6288baf0c8c4dcfbf206773aede9c1f2269cec28version 5.16≥ 5.4.165 and < 5.5≥ 4.19.221 and < 4.20≥ 5.15.8 and < 5.15.203≥ 5.10.85 and < 5.10.253version ec0cddcc2454ab08193beb473978f8f8889b7e24version cc7c2818c71ebace207df40cc586c8c74e3d1a59
and 7 more ≥ 7faac1953ed1f658f719cdf7bb7303fa5eef822c and < c1c8550e70401159184130a1afc6261db01fc0ce≥ 7faac1953ed1f658f719cdf7bb7303fa5eef822c and < 078b446efc0f5e496c31bccb72b98af979963a83≥ 7faac1953ed1f658f719cdf7bb7303fa5eef822c and < c65f1b840ab8ce72ba68f1b63bab7960f8fdfa89≥ 7faac1953ed1f658f719cdf7bb7303fa5eef822c and < 807e4fb5140c73eb5dba1e399a990db5c1f3cdf8≥ 7faac1953ed1f658f719cdf7bb7303fa5eef822c and < 2e2baa8fb5aa4d080cbfeb84c51eff797529f413≥ 7faac1953ed1f658f719cdf7bb7303fa5eef822c and < 46aea90763832cd6e9b0c2e1c00e6a9512156d4b≥ fee8be5bde562d4f5f9a100ca80c6d7072ed34c8 and < 1e800e26d54ccf2ddf2ea6d6cbe021c804d8aa62
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel ≥ 4.19.221 and < 4.20version 7.0-rc4version 7.0-rc3version 7.0-rc2version 7.0-rc1≥ 6.19 and < 6.19.9≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.19≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.78
and 5 more ≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.130≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.167≥ 5.15.8 and < 5.15.203≥ 5.10.85 and < 5.10.253≥ 5.4.165 and < 5.5
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-401 · Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 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

8 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Linux
every CVE for this vendor
Memory corruption
same class
CWE-401
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 15h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 15h
  • 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-2026-43432 is "usb: xhci: Fix memory leak in xhci_disable_slot()", 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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