Rapid7

module

rxkad Page-Cache Write via CVE-2026-43500

Disclosed
May 8, 2026

Description

CVE-2026-43500 exploits a memory-corruption vulnerability in the Linux kernel's RxRPC
authentication subsystem (rxkad). When a crafted DATA packet is delivered to an AF_RXRPC
socket configured with an attacker-controlled rxkad session key, the kernel's
rxkad_verify_packet_1() function performs an in-place 8-byte pcbc(fcrypt) decryption
directly on the page-cache page referenced by the splice offset. Because the decryption
mutates the page in-place without marking it dirty, the corrupted in-memory view is
immediately visible to all processes reading from the page cache. This allows a local
attacker to corrupt the in-memory contents of a SUID binary and escalate privileges to root.
Title
Rapid7 Labs

2026 Global Threat Landscape Report

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