CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-46065NVD status: Undergoing Analysis

Linux: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-46065 is a high-severity missing release of memory after effective lifetime vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 4aab89603b637a2e441b38808c4f6fe7d1184df6, 4fda0d6b45faad44926dd3e4f55f118d899b2e27, 2a40f8bc9bb713329f1c35ffc199ee961a7135b0 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 4aab89603b637a2e441b38808c4f6fe7d1184df6 or 4fda0d6b45faad44926dd3e4f55f118d899b2e27 or 2a40f8bc9bb713329f1c35ffc199ee961a7135b0 or 2b53d3a52e8e5403a4f4fb57ac6cad3fd2cb1066, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.15.210 or 6.1.176 or 6.6.140 or 6.12.88, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, 4aab89603b637a2e441b38808c4f6fe7d1184df6; 60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, 4fda0d6b45faad44926dd3e4f55f118d899b2e27; 60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, 2a40f8bc9bb713329f1c35ffc199ee961a7135b0; 60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, 2b53d3a52e8e5403a4f4fb57ac6cad3fd2cb1066; 60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, 25c2b77bc463f29ee71a54b883548baf9386a0db; 60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, a0aafb421dd15e935d81543152617f2742cefa70; 60b59beafba875aef6d378078bce0baf2287ae14 up to, but not including, 9ded47ad003f09a94b6a710b5c47f4aa5ceb7429; 2.6.224aab89603b637a2e441b38808c4f6fe7d1184df6, 4fda0d6b45faad44926dd3e4f55f118d899b2e27, 2a40f8bc9bb713329f1c35ffc199ee961a7135b0, 2b53d3a52e8e5403a4f4fb57ac6cad3fd2cb1066, 25c2b77bc463f29ee71a54b883548baf9386a0db, a0aafb421dd15e935d81543152617f2742cefa70
SiemensSIMATIC S7-1500 TM MFP - GNU/Linux subsystemall versionsNot stated
LinuxLinux Kernel2.6.22 up to, but not including, 5.15.210; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.176; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.140; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.88; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.30; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.45.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.4

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: defio: Disconnect deferred I/O from the lifetime of struct fb_info Hold state of deferred I/O in struct fb_deferred_io_state. Allocate an instance as part of initializing deferred I/O and remove it only after the final mapping has been closed. If the fb_info and the contained deferred I/O meanwhile goes away, clear struct fb_deferred_io_state.info to invalidate the mapping. Any access will then result in a SIGBUS signal. Fixes a long-standing problem, where a device hot-unplug happens while user space still has an active mapping of the graphics memory. The hot- unplug frees the instance of struct fb_info. Accessing the memory will operate on undefined state.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC). To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std
  • Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
  • Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.

More Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities (CWE-401)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime vulnerabilities

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