Linux Kernel up to 6.19.5 dm blk_complete_request bio use after free

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7.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.5. Affected by this issue is the function blk_complete_request of the component dm. This manipulation of the argument bio causes use after free. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-43278. There is no exploit available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.19.5. Affected by this vulnerability is the function blk_complete_request of the component dm. The manipulation of the argument bio with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: dm: clear cloned request bio pointer when last clone bio completes Stale rq->bio values have been observed to cause double-initialization of cloned bios in request-based device-mapper targets, leading to use-after-free and double-free scenarios. One such case occurs when using dm-multipath on top of a PCIe NVMe namespace, where cloned request bios are freed during blk_complete_request(), but rq->bio is left intact. Subsequent clone teardown then attempts to free the same bios again via blk_rq_unprep_clone(). The resulting double-free path looks like: nvme_pci_complete_batch() nvme_complete_batch() blk_mq_end_request_batch() blk_complete_request() // called on a DM clone request bio_endio() // first free of all clone bios ... rq->end_io() // end_clone_request() dm_complete_request(tio->orig) dm_softirq_done() dm_done() dm_end_request() blk_rq_unprep_clone() // second free of clone bios Fix this by clearing the clone request's bio pointer when the last cloned bio completes, ensuring that later teardown paths do not attempt to free already-released bios.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-43278 since 05/01/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/04/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 318589 (Oracle Linux 10 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2026-50293)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 5.10.252, 5.15.202, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.16 or 6.19.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3d746b639be4b4f5cd8ce2b06aa52dc443f50edc/9a95b98202113045bc1a5bcb30388a500f25e050/8d9ddad561136f7e6a9346767bf97b4d79e38e67/7daf279c674d515fb22a727a7bbc92aeb35c5442/e2e738e8dfbbf83bd2bae0467ec4420cc52da42a/b1c1a2637ebd675aa2d71fee8c70da8791d73850/83d72091804600ead96dc9e9f518ea56cb4942f6/fb8a6c18fb9a6561f7a15b58b272442b77a242dd is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (318589). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.251
• 5.15.201
• 6.1.164
• 6.6.127
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.12.72
• 6.12.73
• 6.12.74
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.6

VulDB Base Score: 8.0
VulDB Temp Score: 7.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / CWE-119
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 318589
Nessus Name: Oracle Linux 10 / 9 : Unbreakable Enterprise kernel (ELSA-2026-50293)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.252/5.15.202/6.1.165/6.6.128/6.12.75/6.18.16/6.19.6
Patch: 3d746b639be4b4f5cd8ce2b06aa52dc443f50edc/9a95b98202113045bc1a5bcb30388a500f25e050/8d9ddad561136f7e6a9346767bf97b4d79e38e67/7daf279c674d515fb22a727a7bbc92aeb35c5442/e2e738e8dfbbf83bd2bae0467ec4420cc52da42a/b1c1a2637ebd675aa2d71fee8c70da8791d73850/83d72091804600ead96dc9e9f518ea56cb4942f6/fb8a6c18fb9a6561f7a15b58b272442b77a242dd

Timelineinfo

05/01/2026 CVE reserved
05/06/2026 +5 days Advisory disclosed
05/06/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
06/04/2026 +29 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-43278 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-43278
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-361549

Entryinfo

Created: 05/06/2026 17:21
Updated: 06/04/2026 19:34
Changes: 05/06/2026 17:21 (60), 06/04/2026 19:34 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Discussion

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