CVE-2026-43343 usb: gadget: f_subset: Fix unbalanced refcnt in geth_free
A reference counting bug in the Linux kernel USB gadget driver prevents proper cleanup, potentially causing resource exhaustion or configuration failures.
- 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-2026-43343?
CVE-2026-43343 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 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:
usb: gadget: f_subset: Fix unbalanced refcnt in geth_free
geth_alloc() increments the reference count, but geth_free() fails to decrement it. This prevents the configuration of attributes via configfs after unlinking the function.
Decrement the reference count in geth_free() to ensure proper cleanup.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43343?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-43343?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-43343 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43343 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-43343, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43343, GHSA-2h6g-jf6m-ch5q, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43343, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43343, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43343 and 1 more.