CVE-2026-46321

HIGHCVSS 7.1/10EPSS 0.13%

Last modified

CVE-2026-46321 is a high-severity vulnerability rated 7.1/10 on the CVSS scale. In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tun: free page on short-frame rejection in tun_xdp_one() tun_xdp_one() returns -EINVAL on a frame shorter than ETH_HLEN without freeing the page that vhost_net_build_xdp() allocated for it. tun_sendmsg() discards that -EINVAL and still returns total_len, so vhost_tx_batch() takes the success path and never frees the page; each short frame in a batch leaks one page-frag chunk. A local process that can open /dev/net/tun and /dev/vhost-net can hit this path: it attaches a tun/tap device as the vhost-net backend and feeds TX descriptors whose length minus the virtio-net header is below ETH_HLEN. Each kick leaks the page-frag chunks for that batch, and a tight submission loop exhausts host memory and triggers an OOM panic. Free the page before returning -EINVAL, matching the XDP-program error path in the same function.. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tun: free page on short-frame rejection in tun_xdp_one() tun_xdp_one() returns -EINVAL on a frame shorter than ETH_HLEN without freeing the page that vhost_net_build_xdp() allocated for it. tun_sendmsg() discards that -EINVAL and still returns total_len, so vhost_tx_batch() takes the success path and never frees the page; each short frame in a batch leaks one page-frag chunk. A local process that can open /dev/net/tun and /dev/vhost-net can hit this path: it attaches a tun/tap device as the vhost-net backend and feeds TX descriptors whose length minus the virtio-net header is below ETH_HLEN. Each kick leaks the page-frag chunks for that batch, and a tight submission loop exhausts host memory and triggers an OOM panic. Free the page before returning -EINVAL, matching the XDP-program error path in the same function.

Metrics

CVSS 3.1
7.1/10

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

EPSS Probability
0.13%

2.9th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Affected Software

VendorProductVersionsUpdate
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.4.281, < 5.5
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.10.223, < 5.10.259
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 5.15.164, < 5.15.210
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.1.102, < 6.1.176
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.6.43, < 6.6.143
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.9.12, < 6.10
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.10.2, < 6.12.93
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.13, < 6.18.35
LinuxLinux Kernel>= 6.19, < 7.0.12
LinuxLinux Kernel7.1Rc1

References

Timeline

Published
Last Modified
Status
Analyzed

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-46321?
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tun: free page on short-frame rejection in tun_xdp_one() tun_xdp_one() returns -EINVAL on a frame shorter than ETH_HLEN without freeing the page that vhost_net_build_xdp() allocated for it. tun_sendmsg() discards that -EINVAL and still returns total_len, so vhost_tx_batch() takes the success path and never frees the page; each short frame in a batch leaks one page-frag chunk. A local process that can open /dev/net/tun and /dev/vhost-net can hit this path: it attaches a tun/tap device as the vhost-net backend and feeds TX descriptors whose length minus the virtio-net header is below ETH_HLEN. Each kick leaks the page-frag chunks for that batch, and a tight submission loop exhausts host memory and triggers an OOM panic. Free the page before returning -EINVAL, matching the XDP-program error path in the same function.
How severe is CVE-2026-46321?
CVE-2026-46321 has a CVSS score of 7.1/10 (HIGH severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.13% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How do I fix CVE-2026-46321?
Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.

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Source: NVD / NIST