CVE-2026-43078

Description

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. Specifically, within the crypto: af_alg component, a page reassignment overflow could occur in the af_alg_pull_tsgl function. This vulnerability arises because the original loop was not updated, potentially allowing it to reassign one more page than necessary. This could lead to unexpected system behavior or a denial of service (DoS).

Statement

af_alg_pull_tsgl can reassign one extra page into the destination scatterlist because the reassignment path did not check whether plen is non zero. A local process using AF_ALG crypto sockets can craft buffer and scatterlist state so the function advances the destination index for a zero length fragment, which can overrun the caller allocated dst SG entries. For the CVSS the PR:L is used because triggering requires local code execution through the AF_ALG socket API, but not administrator privileges in typical configurations. The issue is not network reachable because the vulnerable input is a local crypto socket operation. Impact is at least local denial of service via kernel crash. In the paranoid case, the destination scatterlist overwrite is treated as a plausible memory corruption primitive with possible confidentiality and integrity impact.

Mitigation

Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options don't meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.

Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details

Info alert:Important note

CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).

The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.

CVSS v3 Score Breakdown

Red HatNVDcve.org
Base Score7.3N/A7.8
Attack VectorLocalN/ALocal
Attack ComplexityLowN/ALow
Privileges RequiredLowN/ALow
User InteractionNoneN/ANone
ScopeUnchangedN/AUnchanged
ConfidentialityHighN/AHigh
Integrity ImpactLowN/AHigh
Availability ImpactHighN/AHigh

Vector

Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:L/A:H

cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Understanding the Weakness (CWE)

Availability

Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory); DoS: Instability

This weakness will generally lead to undefined behavior and therefore crashes. In the case of overflows involving loop index variables, the likelihood of infinite loops is also high.

Integrity

Technical Impact: Modify Memory

If the value in question is important to data (as opposed to flow), simple data corruption has occurred. Also, if the wrap around results in other conditions such as buffer overflows, further memory corruption may occur.

Confidentiality,Availability,Access Control

Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; Bypass Protection Mechanism

This weakness can sometimes trigger buffer overflows which can be used to execute arbitrary code. This is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.

Frequently Asked Questions

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