Remote kernel panic via misaligned rxkad ciphertext
Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026
Denial of service in affected Linux Kernel releases allows remote attackers to panic systems via crafted RxRPC DATA packets. The rxkad_verify_packet_2 function passes an attacker-controlled ciphertext length that is not a multiple of eight to the cipher, then reaches WARN_ON_ONCE for the resulting non-ENOMEM decryption error instead of aborting the call. Exploitation requires an existing RxRPC connection and either an on-path attacker or a malicious server; systems configured with panic_on_warn crash, without reported disclosure or data modification.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in affected Linux Kernel releases allows remote attackers to panic systems via crafted RxRPC DATA packets. The rxkad_verify_packet_2 function passes an attacker-controlled ciphertext length that is not a multiple of eight to the cipher, then reaches WARN_ON_ONCE for the resulting non-ENOMEM decryption error instead of aborting the call. Exploitation requires an existing RxRPC connection and either an on-path attacker or a malicious server; systems configured with panic_on_warn crash, without reported disclosure or data modification.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-46085
- Published
- May 27, 2026
- Updated
- May 27, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=5cdf57eda01a1ffaeb61ac39ec4dcc94a690431e
- Affected versionversion=6.12.82 <6.12.86
- Affected versionversion=6.18.23 <6.18.27
- Affected versionversion=6.19.13 <6.20
- Affected versionversion=6.6.135 <6.6.140
- Affected versionversion=7.0
- Affected versionversion=9853917f9edf08efb0b55c26d9eb8340f126d9e9 <f1c6bd0cc786a8fa74829ce3c4b3673944a308f4
- Affected versionversion=bf4d6e4a6856eedeb7f66eb91224115bfff4e2cb <f0d3efd03b2a9e0f1ffa6df8fcb264af3d494286
- Affected versionversion=e9c369d58785044427450350ad32d6a2497fb379 <440d20d95e844b657a93a0b2dcc2aae155efdce6
- Affected versionversion=f93af41b9f5f798823d0d0fb8765c2a936d76270 <af9271eb666d07b6f65612dc160a47f7cb5220ed
- Affected versionversion=f93af41b9f5f798823d0d0fb8765c2a936d76270 <def304aae2edf321d2671fd6ca766a93c21f877e
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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