CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-46176NVD status: Modified

Linux: Expired Pointer Dereference

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-46176 is a high-severity expired pointer dereference 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 a13c2ac4d480b734342c6fbf8249fc48afd675f3, bc2cf5935b4665172235341163315905197ae91d, b087913ae88256df66620f7ba0a9776716aeef7e 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 0.14% 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 a13c2ac4d480b734342c6fbf8249fc48afd675f3 or bc2cf5935b4665172235341163315905197ae91d or b087913ae88256df66620f7ba0a9776716aeef7e or 6fd93142dd1d09000c3750af08270f5792523fe9, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 6.6.140 or 6.12.88 or 6.18.30 or 7.0.7, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxb6334d2356fc0922ed01457960f74923058a353a up to, but not including, a13c2ac4d480b734342c6fbf8249fc48afd675f3; 5895e70f2e6e8dc67b551ca554d6fcde0a7f0467 up to, but not including, bc2cf5935b4665172235341163315905197ae91d; 5895e70f2e6e8dc67b551ca554d6fcde0a7f0467 up to, but not including, b087913ae88256df66620f7ba0a9776716aeef7e; 5895e70f2e6e8dc67b551ca554d6fcde0a7f0467 up to, but not including, 6fd93142dd1d09000c3750af08270f5792523fe9; 5895e70f2e6e8dc67b551ca554d6fcde0a7f0467 up to, but not including, c488df06bd552bb8b6e14fa0cfd5ad986c6e9525; 6.6.64 up to, but not including, 6.6.140; 6.11a13c2ac4d480b734342c6fbf8249fc48afd675f3, bc2cf5935b4665172235341163315905197ae91d, b087913ae88256df66620f7ba0a9776716aeef7e, 6fd93142dd1d09000c3750af08270f5792523fe9, c488df06bd552bb8b6e14fa0cfd5ad986c6e9525, 6.6.140
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 10.0 Extended Update SupportNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 9.6 Extended Update SupportNot specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 6Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 7Not specified in the recordNot stated
Red HatRed Hat Enterprise Linux 8Not specified in the recordNot stated
LinuxLinux Kernel6.6.64 up to, but not including, 6.6.140; 6.11 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, 7.0.7; 7.16.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7

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.

Scoring systemScoreSeverityScored by
CVSS 3.17.8HighCNA
CVSS 3.17.0HighCNA

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: RDMA/mlx5: Fix error path fall-through in mlx5_ib_dev_res_srq_init() mlx5_ib_dev_res_srq_init() allocates two SRQs, s0 and s1. When ib_create_srq() fails for s1, the error branch destroys s0 but falls through and unconditionally assigns the freed s0 and the ERR_PTR s1 to devr->s0 and devr->s1. This leads to several problems: the lock-free fast path checks "if (devr->s1) return 0;" and treats the ERR_PTR as already initialised; users in mlx5_ib_create_qp() dereference the freed SRQ or ERR_PTR via to_msrq(devr->s0)->msrq.srqn; and mlx5_ib_dev_res_cleanup() dereferences the ERR_PTR and double-frees s0 on teardown. Fix by adding the same `goto unlock` in the s1 failure path.

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

The underlying weakness: Expired Pointer Dereference

The product dereferences a pointer that contains a location for memory that was previously valid, but is no longer valid.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Expired Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities (CWE-825)

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 Expired Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities

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