Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8 damos_walk use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8. The impacted element is the function damos_walk. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-43388. There is no available exploit. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function damos_walk. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. 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: mm/damon/core: clear walk_control on inactive context in damos_walk() damos_walk() sets ctx->walk_control to the caller-provided control structure before checking whether the context is running. If the context is inactive (damon_is_running() returns false), the function returns -EINVAL without clearing ctx->walk_control. This leaves a dangling pointer to a stack-allocated structure that will be freed when the caller returns. This is structurally identical to the bug fixed in commit f9132fbc2e83 ("mm/damon/core: remove call_control in inactive contexts") for damon_call(), which had the same pattern of linking a control object and returning an error without unlinking it. The dangling walk_control pointer can cause: 1. Use-after-free if the context is later started and kdamond    dereferences ctx->walk_control (e.g., in damos_walk_cancel()    which writes to control->canceled and calls complete()) 2. Permanent -EBUSY from subsequent damos_walk() calls, since the    stale pointer is non-NULL Nonetheless, the real user impact is quite restrictive. The use-after-free is impossible because there is no damos_walk() callers who starts the context later. The permanent -EBUSY can actually confuse users, as DAMON is not running. But the symptom is kept only while the context is turned off. Turning it on again will make DAMON internally uses a newly generated damon_ctx object that doesn't have the invalid damos_walk_control pointer, so everything will work fine again. Fix this by clearing ctx->walk_control under walk_control_lock before returning -EINVAL, mirroring the fix pattern from f9132fbc2e83.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-43388 since 05/01/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/27/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.19 or 6.19.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ce0aa47c963b8c3e5beace89e2b5a665a64b5b6b/9320c77134ab8d7701e20608bbf08517df4fa321/d210fdcac9c0d1380eab448aebc93f602c1cd4e6 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.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5
• 6.19.6
• 6.19.7
• 6.19.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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