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CVE-2026-43501

9.8 · CRITICAL

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ipv6: rpl: reserve mac_len headroom when recompressed SRH grows ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() decompresses an RFC 6554 Source Routing Head…

Published May 21, 2026CWE-787EPSS 0.99%

Overview

CVE-2026-43501 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 21, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

Technical description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

ipv6: rpl: reserve mac_len headroom when recompressed SRH grows

ipv6_rpl_srh_rcv() decompresses an RFC 6554 Source Routing Header, swaps

the next segment into ipv6_hdr->daddr, recompresses, then pulls the old

header and pushes the new one plus the IPv6 header back. The

recompressed header can be larger than the received one when the swap

reduces the common-prefix length the segments share with daddr (CmprI=0,

CmprE>0, seg[0][0] != daddr[0] gives the maximum +8 bytes).

pskb_expand_head() was gated on segments_left == 0, so on earlier

segments the push consumed unchecked headroom. Once skb_push() leaves

fewer than skb->mac_len bytes in front of data,

skb_mac_header_rebuild()'s call to:

skb_set_mac_header(skb, -skb->mac_len);

will store (data - head) - mac_len into the u16 mac_header field, which

wraps to ~65530, and the following memmove() writes mac_len bytes ~64KiB

past skb->head.

A single AF_INET6/SOCK_RAW/IP

Remediation

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-43501?

CVE-2026-43501 is a critical-severity vulnerability. It was published on May 21, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL).

How severe is CVE-2026-43501?

This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8, rated CRITICAL. It can be exploited remotely over the network. No authentication or special privileges are required for exploitation.

How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-43501?

Check the references section for vendor advisories, patches, and mitigation guidance. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.

How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-43501?

CyberStrike is an open-source, AI-augmented pentesting engine. Rather than flag a version number, it tests whether an issue like CVE-2026-43501 is actually reachable in your own applications and APIs, then verifies each finding before reporting it. That tells you if the weakness is a real, exploitable risk in your environment or a false positive you can safely deprioritize.

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