# CVE-2026-43416: powerpc, perf: Check that current->mm is alive before getting user callchain

> A missing null check in the Linux kernel's PowerPC performance monitoring code allows a local attacker to trigger a kernel panic via a BPF program.

- **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:** 8 May 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-43416, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43416, GHSA-xw48-xgg9-9h3g, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43416, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-43416, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-13-CVE-2026-43416, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43416, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43416, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43416

## What is CVE-2026-43416?

CVE-2026-43416 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:

powerpc, perf: Check that current->mm is alive before getting user callchain

It may happen that mm is already released, which leads to kernel panic.
This adds the NULL check for current->mm, similarly to
commit 20afc60f892d ("x86, perf: Check that current->mm is alive before getting user callchain").

I was getting this panic when running a profiling BPF program
(profile.py from bcc-tools):

    [26215.051935] Kernel attempted to read user page (588) - exploit attempt? (uid: 0)
    [26215.051950] BUG: Kernel NULL pointer dereference on read at 0x00000588
    [26215.051952] Faulting instruction address: 0xc00000000020fac0
    [26215.051957] Oops: Kernel access of bad area, sig: 11 [#1]
    [...]
    [26215.052049] Call Trace:
    [26215.052050] [c000000061da6d30] [c00000000020fc10] perf_callchain_user_64+0x2d0/0x490 (unreliable)
    [26215.052054] [c000000061da6dc0] [c00000000020f92c] perf_callchain_user+0x1c/0x30
    [26215.052057] [c000000061da6de0] [c0000000005ab2a0] get_perf_callchain+0x100/0x360
    [26215.052063] [c000000061da6e70] [c000000000573bc8] bpf_get_stackid+0x88/0xf0
    [26215.052067] [c000000061da6ea0] [c008000000042258] bpf_prog_16d4ab9ab662f669_do_perf_event+0xf8/0x274
    [...]

In addition, move storing the top-level stack entry to generic
perf_callchain_user to make sure the top-evel entry is always captured,
even if current->mm is NULL.

[Maddy: fixed message to avoid checkpatch format style error]

Weakness: CWE-476 (NULL Pointer Dereference)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43416?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-43416?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-43416 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43416 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-2026-43416 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-43416 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43416 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-2026-43416/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43416/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43416
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-43416
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-43416

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43416/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.