Host denial of service via vector context leak
Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026
Memory leakage in Linux Kernel RISC-V KVM allows local users to exhaust host memory during VCPU vector setup failures. The kvm_riscv_vcpu_alloc_vector_context error path returns when host_context.vector.datap allocation fails without freeing guest_context.vector.datap allocated earlier. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access on a RISC-V KVM host, and repeated failures can interrupt host availability through memory exhaustion.
Summary
What happened
Memory leakage in Linux Kernel RISC-V KVM allows local users to exhaust host memory during VCPU vector setup failures. The kvm_riscv_vcpu_alloc_vector_context error path returns when host_context.vector.datap allocation fails without freeing guest_context.vector.datap allocated earlier. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access on a RISC-V KVM host, and repeated failures can interrupt host availability through memory exhaustion.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-46171
- Published
- May 28, 2026
- Updated
- May 28, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-401, T1499.001
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 28, 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=0f4b82579716b12bb88257bd7ea80f25c791fb2c <1d57ab45ec5c0e22789de793bcf2a31ad6fb7d98
- Affected versionversion=0f4b82579716b12bb88257bd7ea80f25c791fb2c <b7c958d7c1eb1cb9b2be7b5ee4129fcd66cec978
- Affected versionversion=0f4b82579716b12bb88257bd7ea80f25c791fb2c <bd62c0f61bc722a097417401030c596cea8e21aa
- Affected versionversion=6.5
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
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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