Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8 vfs_fileattr_get initialization

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8 and classified as critical. Impacted is the function vfs_fileattr_get. This manipulation causes initialization. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-43474. There is no available exploit. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.18/6.19.8. Affected by this vulnerability is the function vfs_fileattr_get. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a initialization vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-665. The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fs: init flags_valid before calling vfs_fileattr_get syzbot reported a uninit-value bug in [1]. Similar to the "*get" context where the kernel's internal file_kattr structure is initialized before calling vfs_fileattr_get(), we should use the same mechanism when using fa. [1] BUG: KMSAN: uninit-value in fuse_fileattr_get+0xeb4/0x1450 fs/fuse/ioctl.c:517 fuse_fileattr_get+0xeb4/0x1450 fs/fuse/ioctl.c:517 vfs_fileattr_get fs/file_attr.c:94 [inline] __do_sys_file_getattr fs/file_attr.c:416 [inline] Local variable fa.i created at: __do_sys_file_getattr fs/file_attr.c:380 [inline] __se_sys_file_getattr+0x8c/0xbd0 fs/file_attr.c:372

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-43474 since 05/01/2026. The exploitation appears 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 $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/21/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.19 or 6.19.9 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 379e19e820dd1c6145426b97467728b3b89c0b42/b8c182b2c8c44c6016b11d8af61715ad7ef958a1/cb184dd19154fc486fa3d9e02afe70a97e54e055 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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