What is CVE-2026-53046?

CVE-2026-53046 is a Critical severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, classified as a Use After Free flaw (CWE-416), affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.15 onward and patched in 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141 and others. CVE-2026-53046 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-53046?

CVE-2026-53046 has a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, rated Critical severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-53046?

Yes, CVE-2026-53046 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-53046 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-53046 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Use After Free (CWE-416)?

The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.html

CVE-2026-53046

Critical

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix use-after-free from async crypto on Qualcomm crypto engine ksmbd_crypt_message() sets a NULL completion callback on AEAD requests and does not handle the -EINPROGRESS return code from async hardware crypto engines like the Qualcomm Crypto Engine (QCE). When QCE returns -EINPROGRESS, ksmbd treats it as an error and immediately frees the request while the hardware DMA operation is still in flight. The DMA completion callback then dereferences freed memory, causing a NULL pointer crash: pc : qce_skcipher_done+0x24/0x174 lr : vchan_complete+0x230/0x27c ... el1h_64_irq+0x68/0x6c ksmbd_free_work_struct+0x20/0x118 [ksmbd] ksmbd_exit_file_cache+0x694/0xa4c [ksmbd] Use the standard crypto_wait_req() pattern with crypto_req_done() as the completion callback, matching the approach used by the SMB client in fs/smb/client/smb2ops.c. This properly handles both synchronous engines (immediate return) and async engines (-EINPROGRESS followed by callback notification).

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-06-24

Last modified 2026-07-21

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

9.8

out of 10

Critical

Attack Vector

Network

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

None

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Weakness type

CWE-416

CVE-2026-53046 is a Use After Free vulnerability

What is Use After Free?

The product references memory after it has been freed, which may cause it to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.15 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141, 6.12.91, 6.18.33, 7.0.10, 7.1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.15

Fixed in

✓ 5.15.209 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.175 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.141 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.91 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.33 6.18.x ✓ 7.0.10 7.0.x ✓ 7.1

References

7 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3e298897f41c61450c2e7a4f457e8b2485eb35b3

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/57b47231055b431ed0a1a55f33cac32981564405

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7164b3953cefd540e7ebca828c793bc6869cfbc4

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8ef183216feaa24b66b940510d8b68f680eb56e9

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8fcefe840fa8c14ce667768e5b043286ac3bbcbe

Patch

Showing 5 of 7 references View all on NVD

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-53046

Severity Critical

CVSS score 9.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-06-24

Modified 2026-07-21

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-53046?

CVE-2026-53046 is a Critical severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10 , classified as an Use After Free flaw (CWE-416) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.15 onward and has been patched in 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141 and others. CVE-2026-53046 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-53046?

CVE-2026-53046 has a CVSS score of 9.8 out of 10, rated Critical severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-53046?

Yes. CVE-2026-53046 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.141 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 5.15 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-53046 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-53046 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.