CVE-2026-46172

Service interruption via unreleased IPv6 route references

Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026

Resource leakage in IPv6 XFRM processing in the Linux Kernel allows attackers to interrupt service by repeatedly hitting an error route. When xfrm6_rcv_encap() obtains a referenced dst from ip6_route_input_lookup() and dst->error is set, its drop path omits the required release. Published assessments disagree on reachability: NVD requires local low-privileged access, while Amazon Linux identifies unauthenticated network access.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
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

Resource leakage in IPv6 XFRM processing in the Linux Kernel allows attackers to interrupt service by repeatedly hitting an error route. When xfrm6_rcv_encap() obtains a referenced dst from ip6_route_input_lookup() and dst->error is set, its drop path omits the required release. Published assessments disagree on reachability: NVD requires local low-privileged access, while Amazon Linux identifies unauthenticated network access.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-46172
Published
May 28, 2026
Updated
May 28, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
T1499.001
Attack vector
Unavailable
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. May 28, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <554c9b090c8ac5b1c5c507f4badf8d5d0c9c6e13
  2. Affected versionversion=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <6a5eec0a2a0e99ec9743cf8f1c4082178811d90a
  3. Affected versionversion=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <9d5047782f9bd2829e529df69209bf3232eb561f
  4. Affected versionversion=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <bc0fcb9823cd0894934cf968b525c575833d7078
  5. Affected versionversion=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <c2efc4956981066df2fef1cc77391b523db6d8e4
  6. Affected versionversion=5.8

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorUnavailable in this record.
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <554c9b090c8ac5b1c5c507f4badf8d5d0c9c6e13; version=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <6a5eec0a2a0e99ec9743cf8f1c4082178811d90a; version=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <9d5047782f9bd2829e529df69209bf3232eb561f; version=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <bc0fcb9823cd0894934cf968b525c575833d7078; version=0146dca70b877b73c5fd9c67912b8a0ca8a7bac7 <c2efc4956981066df2fef1cc77391b523db6d8e4; version=5.8

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.9Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/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.

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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)
VectorUnavailable
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499.001Endpoint Denial of Service: OS 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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