DMA Mapping Leak in Linux Kernel Affecting Network Functionality

CVE-2026-43462

What is CVE-2026-43462?

An issue has been identified in the Linux kernel's network subsystem, specifically within the EMAC (Ethernet Media Access Controller) driver. The vulnerability arises from improper handling of DMA mappings during mapping errors, potentially leading to memory leaks. When a mapping error occurs, the necessary buffers are not correctly freed, which can affect system stability and network performance. The recent fix addresses this by ensuring that all leaked DMA mappings are properly released using the emac_free_tx_buf() function, thereby safeguarding the integrity of the networking operations.

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