Vulnerability · CVE-2026-43503
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (…
Published May 23, 2026 · catalog updated Oct 16, 2026 · linux kernel
Check if you run it
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-43503. EPSS is 1.99%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.
Gaps on this record
- No vendor fix or required action is stored. Compare the linked advisory before you change production.
- Severity
- High8.8
- Known exploitation
- Not in CISA/VulnCheck KEV
- EPSS
- 1.99%
- Remediation
- Advisory link
- Affected products
- cpe linux/linux kernel
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when moving frags from source to destination. __pskb_copy_fclone() defers the rest of the shinfo metadata to skb_copy_header() after copying frag descriptors, but that helper only carries over gso_{size,segs, type} and never touches skb_shinfo()->flags; skb_shift() moves frag descriptors directly and leaves flags untouched. As a result, the destination skb keeps a reference to the same externally-owned or page-cache-backed pages while reporting skb_has_shared_frag() as false. The mismatch is harmful in any in-place writer that uses skb_has_shared_frag() to decide whether shared pages must be detoured through skb_cow_data(). ESP input is one such writer (esp4.c, esp6.c), and a single nft 'dup to ' rule -- or any other nf_dup_ipv4() / xt_TEE caller -- is enough to land a pskb_copy()'d skb in esp_input() with the marker stripped, letting an unprivileged user write into the page cache of a root-owned read-only file via authencesn-ESN stray writes. Set SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG on the destination whenever frag descriptors were actually moved from the source. skb_copy() and skb_copy_expand() share skb_copy_header() too but linearize all paged data into freshly allocated head storage and emerge with nr_frags == 0, so skb_has_shared_frag() returns false on its own; they need no change. The same omission exists in skb_gro_receive() and skb_gro_receive_list(). The former moves the incoming skb's frag descriptors into the accumulator's last sub-skb via two paths (a direct frag-move loop and the head_frag + memcpy path); the latter chains the incoming skb whole onto p's frag_list. Downstream skb_segment() reads only skb_shinfo(p)->flags, and skb_segment_list() reuses each sub-skb's shinfo as the nskb -- both p and lp m
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- cpe linux/linux kernel7.1
How to fix CVE-2026-43503
Recommended remediation
A patch or advisory reference is linked. Open the original publisher for availability by product version.
Official advisories
What to do
Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.
Should you patch?
No confirmed exploitation is on record for CVE-2026-43503. EPSS is 1.99%. Act only if a listed version of linux kernel is installed.
Which versions are affected?
Compare what you have installed with linux/linux kernel 7.1. Compare the installed version with the linked vendor advisory before you change production.
What should an analyst verify?
CWE-664; CWE-691. EPSS 1.99%. There is no CISA KEV listing. A public exploit reference is linked in Sources. That is not the same as confirmed exploitation. Use the source links for the original advisory.
Code
The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.
Timeline
Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.
May 23, 2026 · NIST NVD
Detected
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when moving frags from source to destination. __pskb_copy_fclone() defers the rest of the shinfo metadata to skb_copy_header() a
Oct 15, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when moving frags from source to destination. __pskb_copy_fclone() defers the rest of the shinfo metadata to skb_copy_header() a
Oct 16, 2026 · NIST NVD
Updated
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when moving frags from source to destination. __pskb_copy_fclone() defers the rest of the shinfo metadata to skb_copy_header() a
Sources
- CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2026-43503
Official CVE identifier
cve.org - FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2026-43503
30-day exploitation probability 2.0%
first.org - Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleexploit_linux/local/dirtyclone_cve_2026_43503
Public module reference (normal). Module source is not copied into this catalog.
rapid7.com - NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2026-43503
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when m
nvd.nist.gov
References
Freshness
Last verified in this catalog Oct 18, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.