Local privilege escalation via eventpoll teardown race
Published May 30, 2026 · Updated May 30, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux Kernel allows local users to gain kernel privileges through concurrent nested epoll teardown. ep_remove() clears file->f_ep without pinning the file, so concurrent __fput() can free and recycle the file and watched eventpoll before hlist_del_rcu() writes through its stale link. Any local UID able to create nested epoll descriptors can race close or deletion operations, producing kernel-memory disclosure, corruption, a panic, or privilege escalation.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux Kernel allows local users to gain kernel privileges through concurrent nested epoll teardown. ep_remove() clears file->f_ep without pinning the file, so concurrent __fput() can free and recycle the file and watched eventpoll before hlist_del_rcu() writes through its stale link. Any local UID able to create nested epoll descriptors can race close or deletion operations, producing kernel-memory disclosure, corruption, a panic, or privilege escalation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-46242
- Published
- May 30, 2026
- Updated
- May 30, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 30, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 30, 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=58c9b016e12855286370dfb704c08498edbc857a <a6dc643c69311677c574a0f17a3f4d66a5f3744b
- Affected versionversion=58c9b016e12855286370dfb704c08498edbc857a <ced39b6a8062bac5c18a1c3df85634107eb8664a
- Affected versionversion=58c9b016e12855286370dfb704c08498edbc857a <ef4ca02e95363e78977ca04340d44fe3b4b2b81f
- Affected versionversion=6.4
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
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
- Bad Epoll kernelCTF exploitfunctional · demonstrated
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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