CVE intelligence and bounded remediation

CVE-2026-43388 — Linux Linux Kernel security vulnerability

High CVSS 7.8

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/damon/core: clear walk_control on inactive context in damos_walk() damos_walk() sets ctx->walk_control to the caller-provided control structure before checking whether the context is running. If the context is inactive (damon_is_running() returns false), the function returns -EINVAL without clearing ctx->walk_control. This leaves a dangling pointer to a stack-allocated structure that will be freed when the caller returns. This is structurally identical to the bug fixed in commit f9132fbc2e83 ("mm/damon/core: remove call_control in inactive contexts") for damon_call(), which had the same pattern of linking a control object and returning an error without unlinking it. The dangling walk_control pointer can cause: 1. Use-after-free if the context is later started and kdamond dereferences ctx->walk_control (e.g., in damos_walk_cancel() which writes to control->canceled and calls complete()) 2. Permanent -EBUSY from subsequent damos_walk() calls, since the stale pointer is non-NULL Nonetheless, the real user impact is quite restrictive. The use-after-free is impossible because there is no damos_walk() callers who sta…

Severity
High
CVSS
7.8 (3.1)
Published
2026-05-08
CISA KEV
Not currently listed
Ecosystem
linux/kernel
Weaknesses
CWE-416

Affected products

  • linux / linux_kernel
  • linux / linux_kernel / 7.0

Showing 2 representative product identities from 5 source matches. Confirm exact affected versions with the linked vendor and NVD evidence.

Matched remediation archetype

Use-after-free, double free, and expired resource use

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

Check exposure

  • Trace ownership, references, callbacks, asynchronous tasks, and teardown paths around the affected object or resource.
  • Identify reachable inputs and timing or state transitions that can release the object while references remain.
  • Confirm affected builds, allocators, feature flags, architectures, and process privileges.

Remediate safely

  • Apply the maintained ownership or lifetime fix and rebuild all artifacts containing the affected native code.
  • Use explicit ownership, safe reference management, cancellation and join semantics, and idempotent teardown.
  • Add deterministic lifetime tests plus isolated sanitizer and concurrency coverage for shutdown and error paths.

Authoritative sources

Complete CVE record and remediation plan

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