CVE-2026-45926

Local memory exhaustion via PWM reference leak

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

Memory leak in the Rust PWM subsystem in Linux Kernel 6.19 through 6.19.3 allows local users to exhaust kernel memory. After pwmchip_alloc() creates a reference-owned pwm_chip, an __pinned_init() failure returns without calling pwmchip_put(). Triggering requires execution of that Rust PWM chip initialization error path; public sources do not identify a user-controlled trigger.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.11%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the Rust PWM subsystem in Linux Kernel 6.19 through 6.19.3 allows local users to exhaust kernel memory. After pwmchip_alloc() creates a reference-owned pwm_chip, an __pinned_init() failure returns without calling pwmchip_put(). Triggering requires execution of that Rust PWM chip initialization error path; public sources do not identify a user-controlled trigger.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-45926
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
May 27, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.19
  2. Affected versionversion=7b3dce814a15bc5d9fb6124cd945291012c4ebb9 <a2633dc243c35754a0c2270131d8a199c987c9bf
  3. Affected versionversion=7b3dce814a15bc5d9fb6124cd945291012c4ebb9 <baa8b7097d9cc68ff85819cf683972a58c2ce32b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.19; version=7b3dce814a15bc5d9fb6124cd945291012c4ebb9 <a2633dc243c35754a0c2270131d8a199c987c9bf; version=7b3dce814a15bc5d9fb6124cd945291012c4ebb9 <baa8b7097d9cc68ff85819cf683972a58c2ce32b

Published CVSS scores

5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499.001OS Exhaustion Flood

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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