CVE-2026-46173

Local privilege escalation via task-stack double-free

Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026

Use-after-free in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to corrupt kernel memory by oopsing an already-exiting task. make_task_dead() enters do_task_dead() with preemption enabled, allowing finish_task_switch() to drop the dead task's stack reference repeatedly after a preemption. A local low-privileged process must fault while its exit path is running; successful exploitation can escalate privileges or panic the host.

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

Use-after-free in affected Linux Kernel releases allows local users to corrupt kernel memory by oopsing an already-exiting task. make_task_dead() enters do_task_dead() with preemption enabled, allowing finish_task_switch() to drop the dead task's stack reference repeatedly after a preemption. A local low-privileged process must fault while its exit path is running; successful exploitation can escalate privileges or panic the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-46173
Published
May 28, 2026
Updated
May 28, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-787, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=5.17
  2. Affected versionversion=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <640b4c00fb0e2920327435f6176cbefc3c546165
  3. Affected versionversion=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <6f49f94f3b11fe8bff1bf2a054143789e76aaf17
  4. Affected versionversion=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <7b2800ba5f5f77a8ee7f4cbadb19cf1264597a34
  5. Affected versionversion=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <9756b3db5db6c2f5eccb32dddbd88eb4c54f575e
  6. Affected versionversion=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <c1fa0bb633e4a6b11e83ffc57fa5abe8ebb87891

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=5.17; version=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <640b4c00fb0e2920327435f6176cbefc3c546165; version=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <6f49f94f3b11fe8bff1bf2a054143789e76aaf17; version=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <7b2800ba5f5f77a8ee7f4cbadb19cf1264597a34; version=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <9756b3db5db6c2f5eccb32dddbd88eb4c54f575e; version=7f80a2fd7db9a55894fd841915236aca611291b5 <c1fa0bb633e4a6b11e83ffc57fa5abe8ebb87891

Published CVSS scores

7.0Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.8kernel.orgCVSS: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.

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-787Out-of-bounds Write
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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