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CVE-2026-46300Linux Kernel Missing Initialization of a Variable Vulnerability

Patch nowHigh7.8Exploited, CISA due date 2026-10-31EPSS 16%, higher than 97% of scored CVEs

CVE-2026-46300 is a out-of-bounds write in Linux Kernel, rated high (7.8 on CVSS 3.1).

Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.

Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed

What it is

Code writes past the end of a buffer, corrupting memory in ways an attacker can often turn into code execution.

How it is reached

An attacker can exploit it by someone who can already run code or sign in on the machine, with an ordinary user account, and nobody has to click anything.

What an attacker gains

A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline. In practice, this kind of flaw lets an attacker crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.

Is it being exploited?

CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2026-10-28: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 16% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of scored CVEs.

What to do

  1. Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2026-10-31.
  2. No fixed version is listed for Linux Kernel itself; fixed versions for the other affected products are listed on this page.
  3. Limit who can run code or sign in on the hosts that run it.
  4. Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.

Description from NVD

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

net: skbuff: preserve shared-frag marker during coalescing

skb_try_coalesce() can attach paged frags from @from to @to. If @from has SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG set, the resulting @to skb can contain the same externally-owned or page-cache-backed frags, but the shared-frag marker is currently lost.

That breaks the invariant relied on by later in-place writers. In particular, ESP input checks skb_has_shared_frag() before deciding whether an uncloned nonlinear skb can skip skb_cow_data(). If TCP receive coalescing has moved shared frags into an unmarked skb, ESP can see skb_has_shared_frag() as false and decrypt in place over page-cache backed frags.

Propagate SKBFL_SHARED_FRAG when skb_try_coalesce() transfers paged frags. The tailroom copy path does not need the marker because it copies bytes into @to's linear data rather than transferring frag descriptors.

What this means for your architecture.

A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.

Components it touches

  • Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
  • Native code: operating systems, browsers and firmware. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.
  • Network appliances and media or file parsers. The flaw sits wherever native code reads untrusted data.

Trust boundaries in play

  • Host boundary. The attacker needs a foothold on the machine first; the flaw turns a small foothold into a bigger one.
  • Wherever native code reads untrusted data. An attacker who crosses it can crash the process, read memory, or in the worst case run code.

Questions to answer about your own systems

  • Where does Linux Kernel run in your systems, and at which version?
  • Which of those hosts also run code or users you do not fully trust?
  • What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?

Sources

  • CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
  • Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
  • Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
  • Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.