CVE-2026-43481: net-shapers: don't free reply skb after genlmsg_reply()

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-05-13 · updated 2026-06-26

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net-shapers: don't free reply skb after genlmsg_reply() genlmsg_reply() hands the reply skb to netlink, and netlink_unicast() consumes it on all return paths, whether the skb is queued successfully or freed on an error path. net_shaper_nl_get_doit() and net_shaper_nl_cap_get_doit() currently jump to free_msg after genlmsg_reply() fails and call nlmsg_free(msg), which can hit the same skb twice. Return the genlmsg_reply() error directly and keep free_msg only for pre-reply failures.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.13 before 6.18.19; from 6.19 before 6.19.9; 7.0-rc1, 7.0-rc2, 7.0-rc3 — fixed in 6.18.19, 6.19.9

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.18.19, 6.19.9. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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