# CVE-2026-43388: mm/damon/core: clear walk_control on inactive context in damos_walk()

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel DAMON subsystem can cause denial of service by leaving a dangling pointer when an inactive context is accessed.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 8 May 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-43388, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43388, GHSA-c2gp-49q2-6jxp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43388

## What is CVE-2026-43388?

CVE-2026-43388 is a high-severity use after free 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:

mm/damon/core: clear walk_control on inactive context in damos_walk()

damos_walk() sets ctx->walk_control to the caller-provided control
structure before checking whether the context is running.  If the context
is inactive (damon_is_running() returns false), the function returns
-EINVAL without clearing ctx->walk_control.  This leaves a dangling
pointer to a stack-allocated structure that will be freed when the caller
returns.

This is structurally identical to the bug fixed in commit f9132fbc2e83
("mm/damon/core: remove call_control in inactive contexts") for
damon_call(), which had the same pattern of linking a control object and
returning an error without unlinking it.

The dangling walk_control pointer can cause:
1. Use-after-free if the context is later started and kdamond
   dereferences ctx->walk_control (e.g., in damos_walk_cancel()
   which writes to control->canceled and calls complete())
2. Permanent -EBUSY from subsequent damos_walk() calls, since the
   stale pointer is non-NULL

Nonetheless, the real user impact is quite restrictive.  The
use-after-free is impossible because there is no damos_walk() callers who
starts the context later.  The permanent -EBUSY can actually confuse
users, as DAMON is not running.  But the symptom is kept only while the
context is turned off.  Turning it on again will make DAMON internally
uses a newly generated damon_ctx object that doesn't have the invalid
damos_walk_control pointer, so everything will work fine again.

Fix this by clearing ctx->walk_control under walk_control_lock before
returning -EINVAL, mirroring the fix pattern from f9132fbc2e83.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43388?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-43388?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-43388 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43388 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-2026-43388 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-43388 is a high-severity use after free 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43388 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-2026-43388/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43388/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43388
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-43388
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-43388

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43388/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.