CVE-2026-46093

Local resource exhaustion via unserialized pool decay

Published May 27, 2026 · Updated May 27, 2026

Race condition in Linux Kernel affected builds allows local users to leak kernel memory through concurrent vmalloc pool decay. The vmalloc shrinker calls decay_va_pool_node() without vmap_purge_lock while __purge_vmap_area_lazy() can invoke the same non-reentrant decay, allowing the two paths to race. Local low-privileged access is required; repeated races can consume kernel memory and interrupt service.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in Linux Kernel affected builds allows local users to leak kernel memory through concurrent vmalloc pool decay. The vmalloc shrinker calls decay_va_pool_node() without vmap_purge_lock while __purge_vmap_area_lazy() can invoke the same non-reentrant decay, allowing the two paths to race. Local low-privileged access is required; repeated races can consume kernel memory and interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-46093
Published
May 27, 2026
Updated
May 27, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499.004
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=6.9
  2. Affected versionversion=7679ba6b36dbb300b757b672d6a32a606499e14b <12f2341b4c235d5593a433abac201c1c6725787f
  3. Affected versionversion=7679ba6b36dbb300b757b672d6a32a606499e14b <687ccdf582169cd680aeaf24cc953807c4cd4345
  4. Affected versionversion=7679ba6b36dbb300b757b672d6a32a606499e14b <ec05f51f1e65bce95528543eb73fda56fd201d94

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.9; version=7679ba6b36dbb300b757b672d6a32a606499e14b <12f2341b4c235d5593a433abac201c1c6725787f; version=7679ba6b36dbb300b757b672d6a32a606499e14b <687ccdf582169cd680aeaf24cc953807c4cd4345; version=7679ba6b36dbb300b757b672d6a32a606499e14b <ec05f51f1e65bce95528543eb73fda56fd201d94

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux kernel CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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