Linux: Use After Free
CVE-2026-46219 is a high-severity use after free 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 ac8316c896c79f32c1d0a38cb41fd2b14cf8112e, ed929d40963073f23cfb50219ccbcc6e0c3ea641, 0944b20e9dfa2917bd70eb5b301cbb67fe54a718 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.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Update Linux to ac8316c896c79f32c1d0a38cb41fd2b14cf8112e or ed929d40963073f23cfb50219ccbcc6e0c3ea641 or 0944b20e9dfa2917bd70eb5b301cbb67fe54a718 or bb6b50f709c5a01906ff72a07fdc070bb3357188, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
- Update Linux Kernel to 5.5 or 5.10.258 or 5.15.209 or 6.1.175, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | e0c6ce8424095c2da32a063d3fc027494c689817 up to, but not including, ac8316c896c79f32c1d0a38cb41fd2b14cf8112e; cd5106c77d6d6828aa82449f01f4eb436d602a21 up to, but not including, ed929d40963073f23cfb50219ccbcc6e0c3ea641; 373d55a47dc662e5e30d12ad5d334312f757c1f1 up to, but not including, 0944b20e9dfa2917bd70eb5b301cbb67fe54a718; f65d85bc1ffd8a2c194bb2cd65e35ed3648ddd59 up to, but not including, bb6b50f709c5a01906ff72a07fdc070bb3357188; 90b72189de2cddacb26250579da0510b29a8b82b up to, but not including, ee52da0dd83ebcd89ecbbe2660c57b15a25489f2; 984836621aad98802d92c4a3047114cf518074c8 up to, but not including, 6c3e413919a12627d04a31a4a5fccb9fc129bb02; 984836621aad98802d92c4a3047114cf518074c8 up to, but not including, bbcd6dd8e9f264440eaf6167382bf404911c1c46; 984836621aad98802d92c4a3047114cf518074c8 up to, but not including, 706b3dc2ac7a998c55e14b3fd2e8f934c367e6e0; and 8 more ranges | ac8316c896c79f32c1d0a38cb41fd2b14cf8112e, ed929d40963073f23cfb50219ccbcc6e0c3ea641, 0944b20e9dfa2917bd70eb5b301cbb67fe54a718, bb6b50f709c5a01906ff72a07fdc070bb3357188, ee52da0dd83ebcd89ecbbe2660c57b15a25489f2, 6c3e413919a12627d04a31a4a5fccb9fc129bb02 |
| Linux | Linux Kernel | 5.4.287 up to, but not including, 5.5; 5.10.231 up to, but not including, 5.10.258; 5.15.174 up to, but not including, 5.15.209; 6.1.120 up to, but not including, 6.1.175; 6.6.66 up to, but not including, 6.6.140; 6.12.5 up to, but not including, 6.12.90; 6.13.1 up to, but not including, 6.18.32; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.9; and 1 more ranges | 5.5, 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.90 |
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 NVD.
Official description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: spi: mpc52xx: fix use-after-free on unbind The state machine work is scheduled by the interrupt handler and therefore needs to be cancelled after disabling interrupts to avoid a potential use-after-free.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Use After Free
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.
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.
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Patches and release notes
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/0944b20e9dfa2917bd70eb5b301cbb67fe54a718
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/6c3e413919a12627d04a31a4a5fccb9fc129bb02
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/706b3dc2ac7a998c55e14b3fd2e8f934c367e6e0
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac8316c896c79f32c1d0a38cb41fd2b14cf8112e
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bb6b50f709c5a01906ff72a07fdc070bb3357188
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/bbcd6dd8e9f264440eaf6167382bf404911c1c46
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ed929d40963073f23cfb50219ccbcc6e0c3ea641
- git.kernel.org/stable/c/ee52da0dd83ebcd89ecbbe2660c57b15a25489f2
Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities
- 8.3 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 8.3 High severity
- 8.8 High severity
- 7.5 High severity
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