CVE-2026-43457 mctp: i2c: fix skb memory leak in receive path

Medium 5.5 Published Updated

A memory leak in the Linux kernel MCTP I2C driver allows attackers to exhaust system memory, causing denial of service.

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-2026-43457?

CVE-2026-43457 is a medium-severity denial of service 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:

mctp: i2c: fix skb memory leak in receive path

When 'midev->allow_rx' is false, the newly allocated skb isn't consumed by netif_rx(), it needs to free the skb directly.

Weakness: CWE-401

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43457?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-43457?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade, then put limits on request size, rate and nesting depth so one client cannot exhaust the service. More about Denial of service.

Is CVE-2026-43457 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43457 in the wild and no public exploit code.

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-43457, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43457, GHSA-2mxh-qrpv-mfvx, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43457, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43457.

Is CVE-2026-43457 in your software?

Upload an SBOM and sbomify checks it against every vulnerability here, every day.

Check your SBOMs for free