Vulnary
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Critical· 9.8official fix available

CVE-2026-43198

A race condition in the Linux kernel’s TCP IPv6 handling can let an attacker corrupt data or crash the system. The flaw occurs when a new connection is created before the kernel fully sets up the socket, potentially allowing malicious manipulation of the connection state.

publishedMay 6, 2026
last modifiedJul 20, 2026
sourcesNVD
severity · cvss
9.8
critical · how bad it is
exploitation · epss
<1%
22th percentile · chance of exploitation in 30 days
(ai-assisted) A model wrote this summary from the official data, so double-check it against the source before you act on it. Read the official advisory →
auto-deletes from the system
counting…on Aug 19, 2026

An official fix is available, so this entry is kept for 30 days and then removed automatically.

01

Who is affected

All Linux kernel versions, including 2.6.12 and 7.0, are affected. Any system running a vulnerable kernel is at risk.

02

Real-world impact

An attacker could cause a denial‑of‑service by crashing the kernel or potentially execute arbitrary code if they can exploit the corrupted socket state.

03

Why this severity

The CVSS score of 9.8 reflects that the vulnerability requires no authentication or user interaction, yet it can completely compromise confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the affected system.

04

What to do about it

official fix available
recommended steps
  1. 01Upgrade your Linux kernel to a version that includes the fix for CVE-2026-43198.
  2. 02Reboot the system to load the updated kernel.

NVD description indicates the vulnerability has been resolved.

05

Timeline

  1. May 6, 2026 · May 6, 2026
    Published
    Disclosed and added to the National Vulnerability Database.
  2. Jul 20, 2026 · 16d ago
    Advisory updated
    The NVD record was last revised.
  3. Jul 20, 2026 · 16d ago
    Official fix available
    A vendor patch or mitigation now exists — see the remediation steps above.
06

How it’s attacked

Attack vectorNetwork (remote)
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredNone
User interactionNone needed
ScopeUnchanged
Confidentiality impactHigh
Integrity impactHigh
Availability impactHigh
07

References & advisories

NVD advisory ↗Search advisories ↗
(ai-assisted) A model wrote this summary from the official data, so double-check it against the source before you act on it. Read the official advisory →