critical CVSS 9.1

CVE-2026-43071·Kernel vulnerability

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dcache: Limit the minimal number of bucket to two There is an OOB read problem on dentry_hashtable when user sets 'dhash_entries=1': BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ffff888b30b774b0 #PF: supervisor read access in kernel mode #PF: error_code(0x0000) - not-present page Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP PTI RIP: 0010:__d_lookup+0x56/0x120 Call Trace: d_lookup.cold+0x16/0x5d lookup_dcache+0x27/0xf0 lookup_one_qstr_excl+0x2a/0x180 start_dirop+0x55/0xa0 simple_start_creating+0x8d/0xa0 debugfs_start_creating+0x8c/0x180 debugfs_create_dir+0x1d/0x1c0 pinctrl_init+0x6d/0x140 do_one_initcall+0x6d/0x3d0 kernel_init_freeable+0x39f/0x460 kernel_init+0x2a/0x260 There will be only one bucket in dentry_hashtable when dhash_entries is set as one, and d_hash_shift is calculated as 32 by dcache_init(). Then, following process will access more than one buckets(which memory region is not allocated) in dentry_hashtable: d_lookup b = d_hash(hash) dentry_hashtable + ((u32)hashlen >> d_hash_shift) // The C standard defines the behavior of right shift amounts // exceeding the bit width of the operand as undefined. The // result of '(u32)hashlen >> d_hash_shift' becomes 'hashlen', // so 'b' will point to an unallocated memory region. hlist_bl_for_each_entry_rcu(b) hlist_bl_first_rcu(head) h->first // read OOB! Fix it by limiting the minimal number of dentry_hashtable bucket to two, so that 'd_hash_shift' won't exceeds the bit width of type u32.

Severity
critical
Software
Kernel
Fixed in
7.0.1
Published
2026-05-05

Affected versions

From: 7.0

Until: 7.0.1

Fixed in: 7.0.1

How to fix this CVE

Update your Linux kernel to version 7.0.1 or later to resolve a critical out-of-bounds read vulnerability in the dentry hash table initialization. This vulnerability occurs when the kernel parameter 'dhash_entries' is set to 1, causing memory access violations during directory lookups. Apply the kernel update immediately as this is a critical severity issue affecting system stability and security.

sudo dnf update kernel kernel-devel

Defensia detects this vulnerability

How to check if you are affected

  1. Check current kernel version: uname -r
  2. Verify if dhash_entries parameter is set: cat /proc/cmdline | grep dhash_entries
  3. Search kernel logs for OOB faults: sudo journalctl -b | grep -i 'page fault\|oops\|unable to handle'
  4. Confirm patch application: cat /proc/version | grep -i 'build' and verify kernel release >= 7.0.1

FAQ

What is CVE-2026-43071?

This is a critical out-of-bounds memory read vulnerability in the Linux kernel's dentry hash table implementation. When 'dhash_entries' is explicitly set to 1 via kernel boot parameters, the hash shift calculation becomes invalid, causing the kernel to access unallocated memory regions during directory lookups, triggering page faults and system instability.

Is CVE-2026-43071 being actively exploited?

No, CVE-2026-43071 is not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, and no public exploits are available. However, this is a critical severity issue that should be patched promptly.

What versions of Kernel are affected by CVE-2026-43071?

Linux kernel versions 7.0 and 7.0.1 are affected. The vulnerability is resolved in kernel version 7.0.1 and later releases.

How do I check if my server is vulnerable to CVE-2026-43071?

Run 'uname -r' to check your kernel version. If the output is 7.0 or 7.0.1, verify if dhash_entries=1 is in your kernel parameters with 'cat /proc/cmdline | grep dhash_entries'. If both conditions are true, your system is vulnerable.

Does Defensia detect CVE-2026-43071?

Yes — Defensia's CVE advisory scanner compares installed package versions against the NVD database. If the Linux kernel is installed on a monitored server, CVE-2026-43071 will appear in your dashboard with remediation steps.

Related Kernel CVEs

CVE-2026-64303CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: fsl-lpspi: terminate the RX channel on TX prepare failure path When dmaengine_prep_slave_sg() fails for the TX channel, the error path terminates the TX DMA channel but leaves the RX channel running. Since the RX channel was already submitted and issued prior to preparing the TX descriptor, returning -EINVAL causes the SPI core to unmap the DMA buffers while the RX DMA engine continues writing to them, leading to potential memory corruption or use-after-free. Terminate the RX channel before returning on the TX prepare failure path.
CVE-2026-64355CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Reject fragmented frames in devmap Devmap broadcast redirects clone the packet for all but the last destination. For native XDP, that clone path copies only the linear xdp_frame data, while fragmented frames keep skb_shared_info in tailroom outside the linear area. Cloning such a frame leaves XDP_FLAGS_HAS_FRAGS set but without valid frag metadata, and the later free path can interpret uninitialized tail data as skb_shared_info, leading to an out-of-bounds access during frame return. Reject fragmented native XDP frames in dev_map_enqueue_clone(). Add the same restriction to the generic XDP clone path in dev_map_redirect_clone(). Generic XDP represents fragmented packets as nonlinear skbs, and rejecting them here keeps clone-based broadcast support aligned between native and generic XDP.
CVE-2026-63993CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vxlan: do not reuse cached ip_hdr() value after skb_tunnel_check_pmtu() skb_tunnel_check_pmtu() can change skb->head. Reusing old_iph afer skb_tunnel_check_pmtu() can cause an UAF. Use instead ip_hdr(skb) as done in drivers/net/bareudp.c and drivers/net/geneve.c. Found by Sashiko.
CVE-2026-43501CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: rpl: reserve mac_len headroom when recompressed SRH grows ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() decompresses an RFC 6554 Source Routing Header, swaps the next segment into ipv6_hdr->daddr, recompresses, then pulls the old header and pushes the new one plus the IPv6 header back. The recompressed header can be larger than the received one when the swap reduces the common-prefix length the segments share with daddr (CmprI=0, CmprE>0, seg[0][0] != daddr[0] gives the maximum +8 bytes). pskb_expand_head() was gated on segments_left == 0, so on earlier segments the push consumed unchecked headroom. Once skb_push() leaves fewer than skb->mac_len bytes in front of data, skb_mac_header_rebuild()'s call to: skb_set_mac_header(skb, -skb->mac_len); will store (data - head) - mac_len into the u16 mac_header field, which wraps to ~65530, and the following memmove() writes mac_len bytes ~64KiB past skb->head. A single AF_INET6/SOCK_RAW/IPV6_HDRINCL packet over lo with a two segment type-3 SRH (CmprI=0, CmprE=15) reaches headroom 8 after one pass; KASAN reports a 14-byte OOB write in ipv6_rthdr_rcv. Fix this by expanding the head whenever the remaining room is less than the push size plus mac_len, and request that much extra so the rebuilt MAC header fits afterwards.
CVE-2026-64216CVSS 9.8In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: netfs: Fix potential UAF in netfs_unlock_abandoned_read_pages() netfs_unlock_abandoned_read_pages(rreq) accesses the index of the folios it is wanting to unlock and compares that to rreq->no_unlock_folio so that it doesn't unlock a folio being read for netfs_perform_write() or netfs_write_begin(). However, given that netfs_unlock_abandoned_read_pages() is called _after_ NETFS_RREQ_IN_PROGRESS is cleared, the one folio that it's not allowed to dereference is the one specified by ->no_unlock_folio as ownership immediately reverts to the caller. Fix this by storing the folio pointer instead and using that rather than the index. Also fix netfs_unlock_read_folio() where the same applies.

References

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