NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-43271

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Main Vulnerability Database Vulnerabilities #VU130430

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-43271

Published: May 7, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU130430
CSH Severity: Medium
CVSS v4: 8.2 [CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-43271
CWE-ID: CWE-476
Exploitation vector: Remote access
Exploit availability: No public exploit available

Vulnerability details

The vulnerability allows a remote attacker to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to a null pointer dereference in process_metadata_update() when handling a METADATA_UPDATED message from a remote node during MD array startup. A remote attacker can send a crafted metadata update message to cause a denial of service.

The issue can be triggered during a race condition window before the main MD thread is initialized.


Affected software

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package)
linux-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-nvidia-tegra (Ubuntu package)
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-raspi (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)
linux-raspi-realtime (Ubuntu package)

How to mitigate CVE-2026-43271

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-134.134, 6.8.0-1057.58~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1058.61+fips1, 6.8.0-1058.61~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1060.61, 6.8.0-1060.63+fips1, 6.8.0-1060.63~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1063.69, 6.8.0-1063.69+fips1, 6.8.1-1055.56, 6.8.1-1055.56~22.04.1
linux-azure-fips (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-134.134+fips1, 6.8.0-1062.69+fips1
linux-hwe-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-136.136~22.04.1
linux-nvidia-tegra (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1029.30
linux-aws-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1045.48, 6.8.0-1057.58~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1058.61.1, 6.8.0-1058.64, 6.8.0-1060.61~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1060.63~22.04.1, 6.8.0-1063.69~22.04.1
linux-raspi (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1060.64
linux-azure-fde (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1062.69
linux-azure-fde-6.8 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-1062.69~22.04.1
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.8.0-1063.71, 6.8.0-1063.71~22.04.1
linux-raspi-realtime (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.8.0-2049.50

External References

Related Security Bulletins