Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-43486

DoS in Linux Kernel 6.9 – 6.12.78

Published
13 May 2026
Modified
26 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 5.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0011 2th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-43486 is a medium-severity Infinite Loop (CWE-835) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 5.5 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Application or System Exploitation (T1499.004); ranked at the 2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) and CM-6 (Configuration Settings) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm64: contpte: fix set_access_flags() no-op check for SMMU/ATS faults contpte_ptep_set_access_flags() compared the gathered ptep_get() value against the requested entry to detect no-ops. ptep_get() ORs AF/dirty from all sub-PTEs in the…

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CONT block, so a dirty sibling can make the target appear already-dirty. When the gathered value matches entry, the function returns 0 even though the target sub-PTE still has PTE_RDONLY set in hardware. For a CPU with FEAT_HAFDBS this gathered view is fine, since hardware may set AF/dirty on any sub-PTE and CPU TLB behavior is effectively gathered across the CONT range. But page-table walkers that evaluate each descriptor individually (e.g. a CPU without DBM support, or an SMMU without HTTU, or with HA/HD disabled in CD.TCR) can keep faulting on the unchanged target sub-PTE, causing an infinite fault loop. Gathering can therefore cause false no-ops when only a sibling has been updated: - write faults: target still has PTE_RDONLY (needs PTE_RDONLY cleared) - read faults: target still lacks PTE_AF Fix by checking each sub-PTE against the requested AF/dirty/write state (the same bits consumed by __ptep_set_access_flags()), using raw per-PTE values rather than the gathered ptep_get() view, before returning no-op. Keep using the raw target PTE for the write-bit unfold decision. Per Arm ARM (DDI 0487) D8.7.1 ("The Contiguous bit"), any sub-PTE in a CONT range may become the effective cached translation and software must maintain consistent attributes across the range.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1499.004 Application or System Exploitation Impact
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities that can cause an application or system to crash and deny availability to users.
Why these techniques?

Kernel page-table walker bug enables repeated/ infinite faults (DoS) when SMMU/ATS or non-HAFDBS walkers evaluate sub-PTEs individually.

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

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Affected Assets

linux
linux kernel
7.0 · 6.9 — 6.12.78 · 6.13 — 6.18.19 · 6.19 — 6.19.9

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • CM-6 Configuration Settings
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-4 System Monitoring
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires timely application of the kernel patch that corrects the gathered vs. per-sub-PTE no-op check in contpte_ptep_set_access_flags().

prevent

Enforces explicit configuration of SMMU CD.TCR HA/HD bits, DBM support, and contpte usage so that page-table walkers evaluate descriptors individually rather than relying on the faulty gather logic.

detect

Monitors for repeated translation faults on the same user page, surfacing the infinite-fault-loop symptom that occurs when the no-op check incorrectly skips an update for an SMMU or non-DBM walker.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices (reviews, testing, static analysis) directly prevent introduction of infinite-loop defects.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Static analysis and vuln scanning during asset assessment can detect unreachable loop exits.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing can uncover infinite-loop conditions before release.

prevents

Secure development life cycle mandates practices that can detect and prevent infinite-loop defects.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify loop-termination rules, indirectly reducing the weakness.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly address loop termination and prevent infinite loops.

none

Secure architecture principles encourage designs that avoid unreachable exit conditions.

none

Change management can require review of loop logic when code is modified.

References