Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8 mana_gd_setup use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability marked as critical has been reported in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8. This impacts the function mana_gd_setup. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-43440. There is not any exploit available. It is suggested to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8. This issue affects the function mana_gd_setup. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net/mana: Null service_wq on setup error to prevent double destroy In mana_gd_setup() error path, set gc->service_wq to NULL after destroy_workqueue() to match the cleanup in mana_gd_cleanup(). This prevents a use-after-free if the workqueue pointer is checked after a failed setup.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-43440 since 05/01/2026. The exploitation is known 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 05/22/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 313451 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-43440), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.18.19 or 6.19.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 59489ce60d7412ed82fb1d8002faa3102dcd4916/6c92392602b451e3869f15ab685f8f650e942b13/87c2302813abc55c46485711a678e3c312b00666 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 (313451). 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

• 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

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

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