Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-46147

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.18.30 / 7.0.7 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: KVM: arm64: Fix pin leak and publication ordering in __pkvm_init_vcpu() Two bugs exist in the vCPU initialisation path: 1. If a check fails after hyp_pin_shared_mem() succeeds, the cleanup path jumps to 'unlock' without calling unpin_host_vcpu() or unpin_host_sve_state(), permanently leaking pin references on the host vCPU and SVE state pages. Extract a register_hyp_vcpu() helper that performs the checks and the store. When register_hyp_vcpu() returns an error, call unpin_host_vcpu() and unpin_host_sve_state() inline before falling through to the existing 'unlock' label. 2. register_hyp_vcpu() publishes the new vCPU pointer into 'hyp_vm->vcpus[]' with a bare store, allowing a concurrent caller of pkvm_load_hyp_vcpu() to observe a partially initialised vCPU object. Ensure the store uses smp_store_release() and the load uses smp_load_acquire(). While 'vm_table_lock' currently serialises the store and the load, these barriers ensure the reader sees the fully initialised 'hyp_vcpu' object even if there were a lockless path or if the lock's own ordering guarantees were insufficient for nested object initialization.

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-401

Allocated memory is never released on some path, so a long-running service or a repeatedly triggered request steadily consumes memory until performance degrades or the process crashes. Attackers exploit it by simply driving the leaking path. Remediation is pairing every allocation with a release and using ownership patterns or tooling to catch what leaks.

General guidance for the memory leak 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:< 6.18.30>= 6.19, < 7.0.7= 7.1

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 6.18.30 / 7.0.7 or later
Fixed in 6.18.307.0.7
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

6.18.30 (or any stable release >= 6.18.30, >= 7.0.7, or >= 7.2)

  1. Identify the exact kernel version running on affected systems using 'uname -r'
  2. Download the stable kernel source for the target fixed version (6.18.30 or later stable release)
  3. Apply the specific patch commit 6d69c0ed978f7f0efd053fc98390f25ab77c1aea from git.kernel.org/stable, or use the patched kernel source directly
  4. Rebuild the Linux kernel with the fix applied
  5. Reboot systems with the new kernel image
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches a fixed release
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebooting production systems; ensure compatibility with other system components before upgrading

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 $1,600. Get the upgrade done

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
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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-2026-46147 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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