# CVE-2026-43266: EFI/CPER: don't go past the ARM processor CPER record buffer

> A logic flaw in the Linux kernel's EFI/CPER handling allows reading memory beyond the intended buffer when processing malformed ARM processor error records.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **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:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 May 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-43266, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43266, GHSA-r9ph-9m45-xj6w, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43266, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43266, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43266, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43266

## What is CVE-2026-43266?

CVE-2026-43266 is a medium-severity 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:

EFI/CPER: don't go past the ARM processor CPER record buffer

There's a logic inside GHES/CPER to detect if the section_length
is too small, but it doesn't detect if it is too big.

Currently, if the firmware receives an ARM processor CPER record
stating that a section length is big, kernel will blindly trust
section_length, producing a very long dump. For instance, a 67
bytes record with ERR_INFO_NUM set 46198 and section length
set to 854918320 would dump a lot of data going a way past the
firmware memory-mapped area.

Fix it by adding a logic to prevent it to go past the buffer
if ERR_INFO_NUM is too big, making it report instead:

	[Hardware Error]: Hardware error from APEI Generic Hardware Error Source: 1
	[Hardware Error]: event severity: recoverable
	[Hardware Error]:  Error 0, type: recoverable
	[Hardware Error]:   section_type: ARM processor error
	[Hardware Error]:   MIDR: 0xff304b2f8476870a
	[Hardware Error]:   section length: 854918320, CPER size: 67
	[Hardware Error]:   section length is too big
	[Hardware Error]:   firmware-generated error record is incorrect
	[Hardware Error]:   ERR_INFO_NUM is 46198

[ rjw: Subject and changelog tweaks ]

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43266?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-43266?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-43266 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43266 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-43266 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-43266 is a medium-severity 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43266 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43266/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43266/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43266
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-43266
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-43266

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43266/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.