CVE-2026-52943
HIGHCVE-2026-52943 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) Use After Free vulnerability in Kernel. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-52943 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
net: skbuff: fix missing zerocopy reference in pskb_carve helpers
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-52943 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 0 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
Real-World Exposure
KernelReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: skbuff: fix missing zerocopy reference in pskb_carve helpers
pskb_carve_inside_header() and pskb_carve_inside_nonlinear() both copy the old skb_shared_info header into a new buffer via memcpy(), which includes the destructor_arg pointer (uarg) for MSG_ZEROCOPY skbs. Neither function calls net_zcopy_get() for the new shinfo, creating an unaccounted holder: every skb_shared_info with destructor_arg set will call skb_zcopy_clear() once when freed, but the corresponding net_zcopy_get() was never called for the new copy. Repeated calls drive uarg->refcnt to zero prematurely, freeing ubuf_info_msgzc while TX skbs still hold live destructor_arg pointers.
KASAN reports use-after-free on a freed ubuf_info_msgzc:
BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in skb_release_data+0x77b/0x810 Read of size 8 at addr ffff88801574d3e8 by task poc/220
Call Trace: skb_release_data+0x77b/0x810 kfree_skb_list_reason+0x13e/0x610 skb_release_data+0x4cd/0x810 sk_skb_reason_drop+0xf3/0x340 skb_queue_purge_reason+0x282/0x440 rds_tcp_inc_free+0x1e/0x30 rds_recvmsg+0x354/0x1780 __sys_recvmsg+0xdf/0x180
Allocated by task 219: msg_zerocopy_realloc+0x157/0x7b0 tcp_sendmsg_locked+0x2892/0x3ba0
Freed by task 219: ip_recv_error+0x74a/0xb10 tcp_recvmsg+0x475/0x530
The skb consuming the late access still referenced the same uarg via shinfo->destructor_arg copied by pskb_carve_inside_nonlinear() without a refcount bump. This has been verified to be reliably exploitable: a working proof-of-concept achieves full root privilege escalation from an unprivileged local user on a default kernel configuration.
The fix follows the pattern of pskb_expand_head() which has the same memcpy/cloned structure. For pskb_carve_inside_header(), net_zcopy_get() is placed after skb_orphan_frags() succeeds, so the orphan error path needs no cleanup. For pskb_carve_inside_nonlinear(), net_zcopy_get() is placed after all failure points and just before skb_release_data(), so no error path needs cleanup at all -- matching pskb_expand_head() more closely and avoiding the need for a balancing net_zcopy_put().
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐧Linux | Kernel | ≥ 4.7.0&&< 5.10.259 | 5.10.259 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update Kernel to 5.10.259 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-52943 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-52943 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2026-52943. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-52943 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2026-52943 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.