CVE-2026-46281
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vmalloc: fix buffer overflow in vrealloc_node_align() Commit 4c5d3365882d ("mm/vmalloc: allow to set node and align in vrealloc") added the ability to force a new allocation if the current pointer is on the wrong NUMA node, or if an alignment constraint is not met, even if the user is shrinking the allocation. On this path (need_realloc), the code allocates a new object of 'size' bytes and then memcpy()s 'old_size' bytes into it. If the request is to shrink the object (size < old_size), this results in an out-of-bounds write on the new buffer. Fix this by bounding the copy length by the new allocation size.
Affected versions
Linux kernel versions
6.18
and later are affected. Fixed in
6.18.27,
7.0.4,
7.1-rc2
and their respective stable series.
References
The following references provide additional information about CVE-2026-46281 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/82d1f01292d3f09bf063f829f8ab8de12b4280a1
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b281adf71f786c325eb6d6d1582d4d05313438a8
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PatchKernel patch commithttps://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e9b057a44deff4c59c13f44672a5cc74dcd57522
Frequently asked questions
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What is CVE-2026-46281?
CVE-2026-46281 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 6.18 onward and has been patched in 6.18.27, 7.0.4 and 7.1-rc2. CVE-2026-46281 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
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Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-46281?
Yes — CVE-2026-46281 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.18.27, 7.0.4 and 7.1-rc2. If you are running Linux kernel 6.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
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Is CVE-2026-46281 actively exploited?
No — CVE-2026-46281 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.