Linux Kernel up to 6.6.127/6.12.74/6.18.15/6.19.5 ext4 ext4_percpu_param_init memory corruption

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.127/6.12.74/6.18.15/6.19.5. This affects the function ext4_percpu_param_init of the component ext4. Performing a manipulation results in memory corruption. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-43288. No exploit exists. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.127/6.12.74/6.18.15/6.19.5. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function ext4_percpu_param_init of the component ext4. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory corruption vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-119. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it can read from or write to a memory location that is outside of the intended boundary of the buffer. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ext4: move ext4_percpu_param_init() before ext4_mb_init() When running `kvm-xfstests -c ext4/1k -C 1 generic/383` with the `DOUBLE_CHECK` macro defined, the following panic is triggered: ================================================================== EXT4-fs error (device vdc): ext4_validate_block_bitmap:423: comm mount: bg 0: bad block bitmap checksum BUG: unable to handle page fault for address: ff110000fa2cc000 PGD 3e01067 P4D 3e02067 PUD 0 Oops: Oops: 0000 [#1] SMP NOPTI CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 2386 Comm: mount Tainted: G W 6.18.0-gba65a4e7120a-dirty #1152 PREEMPT(none) RIP: 0010:percpu_counter_add_batch+0x13/0xa0 Call Trace: <TASK> ext4_mark_group_bitmap_corrupted+0xcb/0xe0 ext4_validate_block_bitmap+0x2a1/0x2f0 ext4_read_block_bitmap+0x33/0x50 mb_group_bb_bitmap_alloc+0x33/0x80 ext4_mb_add_groupinfo+0x190/0x250 ext4_mb_init_backend+0x87/0x290 ext4_mb_init+0x456/0x640 __ext4_fill_super+0x1072/0x1680 ext4_fill_super+0xd3/0x280 get_tree_bdev_flags+0x132/0x1d0 vfs_get_tree+0x29/0xd0 vfs_cmd_create+0x59/0xe0 __do_sys_fsconfig+0x4f6/0x6b0 do_syscall_64+0x50/0x1f0 entry_SYSCALL_64_after_hwframe+0x76/0x7e ================================================================== This issue can be reproduced using the following commands: mkfs.ext4 -F -q -b 1024 /dev/sda 5G tune2fs -O quota,project /dev/sda mount /dev/sda /tmp/test With DOUBLE_CHECK defined, mb_group_bb_bitmap_alloc() reads and validates the block bitmap. When the validation fails, ext4_mark_group_bitmap_corrupted() attempts to update sbi->s_freeclusters_counter. However, this percpu_counter has not been initialized yet at this point, which leads to the panic described above. Fix this by moving the execution of ext4_percpu_param_init() to occur before ext4_mb_init(), ensuring the per-CPU counters are initialized before they are used.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-43288 since 05/01/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/14/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.16 or 6.19.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 0d5fcb063cdabb9aeaa8554b7fedad2092c4150e/9e9fb259bcddf459a0168f4a964e979e500a68a5/bf5b609524497c195f801cd5707252384aed8149/aec095f3cc6cf209effd93278ce35be27db81d73/270564513489d98b721a1e4a10017978d5213bff 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 CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-1454). Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

Affected

• Google Container-Optimized OS
• Debian Linux
• Amazon Linux 2
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux
• Ubuntu Linux
• SUSE Linux
• Oracle Linux
• SUSE openSUSE
• RESF Rocky Linux
• Microsoft Azure Linux
• Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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

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CPE 2.2info

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Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

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Entryinfo

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