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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-46233

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-28
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 5.10.258 / 5.15.209 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: batman-adv: bla: only purge non-released claims When batadv_bla_purge_claims() goes through the list of claims, it is only traversing the hash list with an rcu_read_lock(). Due to a potential parallel batadv_claim_put(), it can happen that it encounters a claim which was actually in the process of being released+freed by batadv_claim_release(). In this case, backbone_gw is set to NULL before the delayed RCU kfree is started. Calling batadv_bla_claim_get_backbone_gw() is then no longer allowed because it would cause a NULL-ptr derefence. To avoid this, only claims with a valid reference counter must be purged. All others are already taken care of.

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:>= 3.5, < 5.10.258>= 5.11, < 5.15.209>= 5.16, < 6.1.175>= 6.2, < 6.6.140>= 6.7, < 6.12.90>= 6.13, < 6.18.32>= 6.19, < 7.0.9= 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 5.10.258 / 5.15.209 / 6.1.175 or later
Fixed in 5.10.2585.15.2096.1.175
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Kernel 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, or 6.6.140 (depending on which major version branch you are on)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r' to determine which version range you fall into
  2. For systems running kernel >= 3.5 and < 5.10.258: upgrade to kernel version 5.10.258 or later
  3. For systems running kernel >= 5.11 and < 5.15.209: upgrade to kernel version 5.15.209 or later
  4. For systems running kernel >= 5.16 and < 6.1.175: upgrade to kernel version 6.1.175 or later
  5. For systems running kernel >= 6.2 and < 6.6.140: upgrade to kernel version 6.6.140 or later
  6. After upgrade, verify the fix is present by checking the kernel version with 'uname -r' and confirming the batman-adv module loads correctly with 'modprobe batman-adv'
  7. If using a distribution kernel, check with your distribution vendor for their patched kernel packages that address this CVE
Caveat Major kernel version upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree kernel modules or third-party drivers; ensure compatibility before upgrading production systems

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-2026-46233 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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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