CVE-2026-43168 ocfs2: fix reflink preserve cleanup issue
A bug in the Linux kernel's OCFS2 filesystem cleanup logic can lead to memory corruption, potentially allowing local attackers to execute code or escalate privileges.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-43168?
CVE-2026-43168 is a medium-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 6 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
ocfs2: fix reflink preserve cleanup issue
commit c06c303832ec ("ocfs2: fix xattr array entry __counted_by error") doesn't handle all cases and the cleanup job for preserved xattr entries still has bug: - the 'last' pointer should be shifted by one unit after cleanup an array entry. - current code logic doesn't cleanup the first entry when xh_count is 1.
Note, commit c06c303832ec is also a bug fix for 0fe9b66c65f3.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43168?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-43168?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-43168 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43168 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-43168, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43168, GHSA-m75h-8jqh-gvwj, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43168, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43168, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43168 and 1 more.