What is CVE-2026-46238?

CVE-2026-46238 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 2.6.38 onward and patched in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. CVE-2026-46238 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-46238?

CVE-2026-46238 has a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-46238?

Yes, CVE-2026-46238 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.38 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-46238 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-46238 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-46238

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: stop caching unowned originator pointers in BAT IV BAT IV keeps the last-hop neighbor address in each neigh_node, but some paths also cache an originator pointer derived from a temporary lookup. That pointer is not owned by the neigh_node and may no longer refer to a live originator entry after purge handling runs. Stop storing the auxiliary originator pointer in the BAT IV neighbor state. When BAT IV needs the neighbor originator data, resolve it from the stored neighbor address and drop the reference again after use. [sven: avoid bonding logic for outgoing OGM]

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-05-28

Last modified 2026-06-01

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

8.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Adjacent

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.38 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.140, 6.12.90, 6.18.32, 7.0.9, 7.1-rc4 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 2.6.38

Fixed in

✓ 5.10.258 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.209 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.175 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.140 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.90 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.32 6.18.x ✓ 7.0.9 7.0.x ✓ 7.1-rc4

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-46238 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/09dc0d1a12222ffca6481916eab3cfea477b9620
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/384e3050a42be9085d50507b4d5f8266a588d742
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/67bceeb22207f1f5a402973a3a0809e5f2698f38
Patch

8 patch commits total View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-46238

Severity High

CVSS score 8.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-05-28

Modified 2026-06-01

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-46238?

CVE-2026-46238 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.38 onward and has been patched in 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. CVE-2026-46238 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-46238?

CVE-2026-46238 has a CVSS score of 8.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-46238?

Yes — CVE-2026-46238 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.38 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-46238 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2026-46238 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.