CriticalCVE-2026-43038

    Linux Kernel: security vulnerability (CVE-2026-43038)

    Published Last modified Sources: Siemens ProductCERT, Ubuntu, Debian LTS, Debian, SUSE, Red Hat, BSI, CVE.org, EUVD

    What is affected, what to do

    A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's IPv6 ICMP error generation. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted IPv4 ICMP error packet with a Common Internet Protocol Security Option (CIPSO) IP option.

    Update Linux Kernel to version 5.10.253, Linux Kernel to version 5.15.203, Linux Kernel to version 6.1.168.

    Affected
    • Linux Kernel lt 3.13..5.10.253
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.11..5.15.203
    • Linux Kernel lt 5.16..6.1.168
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.2..6.6.134
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.7..6.12.81
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.13..6.18.22
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.19..6.19.12
    • Linux Kernel lt 6.20..7.0
    Fixed in
    • Linux Kernel 5.10.253
    • Linux Kernel 5.15.203
    • Linux Kernel 6.1.168
    • Linux Kernel 6.6.134
    • Linux Kernel 6.12.81
    • Linux Kernel 6.18.22
    • Linux Kernel 6.19.12
    • Linux Kernel 7.0

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    9.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    9.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity Critical on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: Siemens ProductCERT, Ubuntu, Debian LTS, Debian, SUSE, Red Hat, BSI, CVE.org, EUVD

    0.3 %

    EPSS score

    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 17.1

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    68.20 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

    Read in glossary
    no public PoC known
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

    Read in glossary
    9.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    9.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

    Read in glossary
    0.3 %
    Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

    Read in glossary
    17.1
    Elevated — this CVE ranks above at least 10% of all CVEs scored today.
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    —
    Published
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: none known · automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 16 October 2026
    CWE

    CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.

    Read in glossary
    CWE-787

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's IPv6 ICMP error generation. A remote attacker could send a specially crafted IPv4 ICMP error packet with a Common Internet Protocol Security Option (CIPSO) IP option. This could lead to incorrect handling of packet control block data when generating an IPv6 ICMP error, potentially causing an out-of-bounds memory access. This memory corruption could result in information disclosure or a denial of service.

    Source: siemens_advisory, Ubuntu Security Notices, Debian LTS Advisories, Debian Security Advisories, suse_csaf, redhat_csaf, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST), ENISA EUVD, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Affected products

    The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.

    Affected products
    Affected versionsFixed in
    LinuxLinux
    • 3.13 – < 5.10.253
    • 6.19 – < 6.19.12
    • 5.16 – < 6.1.168
    • 6.13 – < 6.18.22
    • 5.11 – < 5.15.203
    • 6.20 – < 7.0
    • 6.7 – < 6.12.81
    • 6.2 – < 6.6.134
    • 5.10.253
    • 6.19.12
    • 6.1.168
    • 6.18.22
    • 5.15.203
    • 7.0
    • 6.12.81
    • 6.6.134
    IBMDataPower Gateway
    • < 11.0.0.3
    • < 10.6.0.11
    • < 10.5.0.23
    • 11.0.0.3
    • 10.6.0.11
    • 10.5.0.23
    MicrosoftAzure Linux
    • azl3
    • —

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Linuxdebianlinuxbookworm
    Linuxdebianlinuxbullseye
    Linuxdebianlinux-6.1bullseye
    Linuxlinuxlinux_kernel3.13
    Linuxlinuxlinux_kernel7.0
    Linuxlinuxlinux_kernel—

    Weakness classes (CWE)

    • CWE-787Out-of-bounds Write

      Base

      The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

      Entry at MITRE CWE-787

    References & sources

    Changes to this CVE

    Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).

    1. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      Weakness type: CWE-787

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      CWE-787

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    2. Record modifiedCISA ADP

      CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: none known, automatable: yes

      Show the original change
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      SSVC assessmentadded
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      {"id":"CVE-2026-43038","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"yes"},{"technicalImpact":"total"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-10-16T15:13:51.083279Z"}

      Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0

    3. Record modifiedLinux

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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0452b6526b2f54b2413b9cb4ff1ea2ac542c99c7
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1ceeebd5bd6d855b17a5df625109bfe29129d7cf
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d5127d998de617b130aae96b138dba22ac6a8a7
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86ab3e55673a7a49a841838776f1ab18d23a67b5
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a2edbb6393972a02114b6003953a5cef3104fada
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4437faf135da293d16fcc4cc607316742bd0ebb
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c438ba010171b70bad22fc18b1d5bdc3627476e8
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e41953e7d118e2702bcb217879c173d9d1d3cd4e
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0452b6526b2f54b2413b9cb4ff1ea2ac542c99c7
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1ceeebd5bd6d855b17a5df625109bfe29129d7cf
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d5127d998de617b130aae96b138dba22ac6a8a7
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86ab3e55673a7a49a841838776f1ab18d23a67b5
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a2edbb6393972a02114b6003953a5cef3104fada
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4437faf135da293d16fcc4cc607316742bd0ebb
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c438ba010171b70bad22fc18b1d5bdc3627476e8
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      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e41953e7d118e2702bcb217879c173d9d1d3cd4e
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0452b6526b2f54b2413b9cb4ff1ea2ac542c99c7 Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1ceeebd5bd6d855b17a5df625109bfe29129d7cf Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d5127d998de617b130aae96b138dba22ac6a8a7 Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/86ab3e55673a7a49a841838776f1ab18d23a67b5 Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a2edbb6393972a02114b6003953a5cef3104fada Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a4437faf135da293d16fcc4cc607316742bd0ebb Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c438ba010171b70bad22fc18b1d5bdc3627476e8 Types: Patch
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      Reference typeremoved
      https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e41953e7d118e2702bcb217879c173d9d1d3cd4e Types: Patch
      —

      Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

    4. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22900
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22940
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22964
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23224
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23237
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:24343
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25120
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25121
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25533
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26535
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30129
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30848
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55618
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55761
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55762
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55763
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55837
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56224
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56225
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      https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-43038
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      https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2464397
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      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-43038.json
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22900
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22940
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22964
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23224
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23237
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:24343
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25120
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:25121
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:26535
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30129
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:30848
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55618
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55761
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55762
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55763
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55837
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56224
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56225
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      https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-43038
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      https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2464397
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      Referenceremoved
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-43038.json
      —

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    5. Record modifiedSiemens ADP

      Show 6 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
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      Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/43xxx/CVE-2026-43038.json">CVE-2026-43038</a>
      Referenceadded
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      https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html
      Referenceadded
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      https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html
      Referenceadded
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      https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-457936.html
      Referenceremoved
      https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-019113.html
      —
      Referenceremoved
      https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/html/ssa-082556.html
      —

      Source identifier: 0b142b55-0307-4c5a-b3c9-f314f3fb7c5e

    Show 3 older changes
    1. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 2 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
      —
      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55761
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support (+22)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support (+23)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    2. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 3 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56224
      Referenceadded
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:56225
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support (+20)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support (+22)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    3. Record modifiedRed Hat ADP

      Show 5 original changes
      Individual changes of this event as published by NVD
      TypeActionBeforeAfter
      Referenceadded
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55618
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55762
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55763
      Referenceadded
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      https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:55837
      Affected versions (publisher)changed
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 (+16)
      Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update Support (+20)

      Source identifier: 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c

    Linked advisories

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    <a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-43038"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-43038.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-43038 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>