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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-46034

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-27
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.12.86 / 6.18.27 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vfio/cdx: Fix NULL pointer dereference in interrupt trigger path Add validation to ensure MSI is configured before accessing cdx_irqs array in vfio_cdx_set_msi_trigger(). Without this check, userspace can trigger a NULL pointer dereference by calling VFIO_DEVICE_SET_IRQS with VFIO_IRQ_SET_DATA_BOOL or VFIO_IRQ_SET_DATA_NONE flags before ever setting up interrupts via VFIO_IRQ_SET_DATA_EVENTFD. The vfio_cdx_msi_enable() function allocates the cdx_irqs array and sets config_msi to 1 only when called through the EVENTFD path. The trigger loop (for DATA_BOOL/DATA_NONE) assumed this had already been done, but there was no enforcement of this call ordering. This matches the protection used in the PCI VFIO driver where vfio_pci_set_msi_trigger() checks irq_is() before the trigger loop.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis
How this class of weakness works · CWE-476

The code follows a pointer that is null, crashing the process. An attacker who can reliably trigger it turns the crash into a denial of service. The fix is checking for null before use and handling the failure path gracefully.

General guidance for the null pointer dereference class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.10, < 6.12.86>= 6.13, < 6.18.27>= 6.19, < 7.0.4

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.12.86 / 6.18.27 / 7.0.4 or later
Fixed in 6.12.866.18.277.0.4
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.12.86+, 6.18.27+, or 7.0.4+ (depending on your branch)

  1. Identify your current kernel version using 'uname -r' or 'cat /proc/version'
  2. Determine which version branch you are on (6.10-6.12.x, 6.13-6.18.x, or 6.19-7.0.x)
  3. Upgrade the Linux kernel to the appropriate fixed version: 6.12.86 or later for the 6.12 branch, 6.18.27 or later for the 6.18 branch, or 7.0.4 or later for the 7.0 branch
  4. Reboot the system to load the patched kernel
  5. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version and confirming the patch commit (338a736aaf15e8ba3635ce20b29af5b8fc15e66a) is included
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure all kernel modules are compatible with the new version before rebooting

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $2,850. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-46034 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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