CVE-2026-43364 ublk: fix NULL pointer dereference in ublk_ctrl_set_size()

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A local attacker can cause a kernel crash by sending an update size command to an unstarted or stopped ublk device.

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-2026-43364?

CVE-2026-43364 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:

ublk: fix NULL pointer dereference in ublk_ctrl_set_size()

ublk_ctrl_set_size() unconditionally dereferences ub->ub_disk via set_capacity_and_notify() without checking if it is NULL.

ub->ub_disk is NULL before UBLK_CMD_START_DEV completes (it is only assigned in ublk_ctrl_start_dev()) and after UBLK_CMD_STOP_DEV runs (ublk_detach_disk() sets it to NULL). Since the UBLK_CMD_UPDATE_SIZE handler performs no state validation, a user can trigger a NULL pointer dereference by sending UPDATE_SIZE to a device that has been added but not yet started, or one that has been stopped.

Fix this by checking ub->ub_disk under ub->mutex before dereferencing it, and returning -ENODEV if the disk is not available.

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43364?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-43364?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-43364 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43364 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-43364, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43364, GHSA-f4x6-g3j5-68gm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43364.

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