Local privilege escalation via shared op-cache corruption
Published May 28, 2026 · Updated May 28, 2026
Improper resource isolation in the Linux kernel on AMD Zen 2 systems allows local users to corrupt higher-privilege instructions. The Zen 2 CPU initialization path leaves bit 33 of MSR 0xc001102e unset on bare-metal systems, allowing operation-cache resources to remain shared across privilege boundaries. Low-privileged local code can corrupt instructions executed at a higher privilege level, resulting in privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
Summary
What happened
Improper resource isolation in the Linux kernel on AMD Zen 2 systems allows local users to corrupt higher-privilege instructions. The Zen 2 CPU initialization path leaves bit 33 of MSR 0xc001102e unset on bare-metal systems, allowing operation-cache resources to remain shared across privilege boundaries. Low-privileged local code can corrupt instructions executed at a higher privilege level, resulting in privilege escalation or arbitrary code execution.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-46174
- Published
- May 28, 2026
- Updated
- May 28, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1068
- 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=0 <5.10.256
- Affected versionversion=0 <5.15.207
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.1.173
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.12.88
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.18.30
- Affected versionversion=0 <6.6.139
- Affected versionversion=0 <7.0.7
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1cd85a19748b2407830376a5cbae5c0f126016e5
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <1e23b30a80b14e5764657401ee2cca030525ae8e
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <251497955f2314cd39d43191e81c6151dead4c7b
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <28f5ed477eef166d678d6966762cbc1de9b4f436
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9109489cc8c34e50d15575a3d1ff82af586bc1aa
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <c21b90f77687075115d989e53a8ec5e2bb427ab1
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <f5bc3aef7df46eaaf423d7413ab8833f704ae576
- Affected versionversion=1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <ff6fc65b3bf73acc5ee71919154d830ad5431362
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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