# CVE-2026-43296: octeontx2-af: Workaround SQM/PSE stalls by disabling sticky

> A hardware errata workaround in the Linux kernel prevents network stalls and deadlocks in the OcteonTX2 AF driver, ensuring system stability under load.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 May 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-43296, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43296, GHSA-7rmq-9hg9-v4q5, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43296, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43296, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43296, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43296

## What is CVE-2026-43296?

CVE-2026-43296 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

octeontx2-af: Workaround SQM/PSE stalls by disabling sticky

NIX SQ manager sticky mode is known to cause stalls when multiple SQs
share an SMQ and transmit concurrently. Additionally, PSE may deadlock
on transitions between sticky and non-sticky transmissions. There is
also a credit drop issue observed when certain condition clocks are
gated.

work around these hardware errata by:
- Disabling SQM sticky operation:
  - Clear TM6 (bit 15)
  - Clear TM11 (bit 14)
- Disabling sticky → non-sticky transition path that can deadlock PSE:
  - Clear TM5 (bit 23)
- Preventing credit drops by keeping the control-flow clock enabled:
  - Set TM9 (bit 21)

These changes are applied via NIX_AF_SQM_DBG_CTL_STATUS. With this
configuration the SQM/PSE maintain forward progress under load without
credit loss, at the cost of disabling sticky optimizations.

Weakness: CWE-667 (Improper Locking)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43296?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-43296?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-43296 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43296 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-2026-43296 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-43296 is a high-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43296 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-2026-43296/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43296/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43296
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-43296
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-43296

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43296/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.