CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2026-43187 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

High CVSS 8.8

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: delete attr leaf freemap entries when empty Back in commit 2a2b5932db6758 ("xfs: fix attr leaf header freemap.size underflow"), Brian Foster observed that it's possible for a small freemap at the end of the end of the xattr entries array to experience a size underflow when subtracting the space consumed by an expansion of the entries array. There are only three freemap entries, which means that it is not a complete index of all free space in the leaf block. This code can leave behind a zero-length freemap entry with a nonzero base. Subsequent setxattr operations can increase the base up to the point that it overlaps with another freemap entry. This isn't in and of itself a problem because the code in _leaf_add that finds free space ignores any freemap entry with zero size. However, there's another bug in the freemap update code in _leaf_add, which is that it fails to update a freemap entry that begins midway through the xattr entry that was just appended to the array. That can result in the freemap containing two entries with the same base but different sizes (0 for the "pushed-up" entry, nonzero for the entr…

Severity
High
CVSS
8.8 (3.1)
Published
2026-05-06
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-191

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel
  • linux / linux_kernel / 2.6.12

Showing 2 representative product identities from 12 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

General vulnerability remediation

This catalog composition supplies bounded fallback guidance. Explicitly reviewed curated workflows load with the complete record below.

Check exposure

  • Confirm the affected component, deployment paths, reachable interfaces, and enabled features from inventories and configuration, without probing production destructively.
  • Compare the advisory's affected conditions with the repository lockfiles, build manifests, artifacts, and runtime inventory.
  • Identify data sensitivity, trust boundaries, and privilege level for every confirmed affected deployment.

Remediate safely

  • Apply a vendor-supported fix or remove the affected component or feature; record the selected change and its source in the repository.
  • Update direct and transitive dependency locks, generated artifacts, deployment manifests, and asset inventories together.
  • Add a regression test for the documented unsafe condition using inert inputs and preserve rollback instructions.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

The detailed catalog view below loads this exact record, its source evidence, and the full seven-phase agentic change plan.