CVE-2026-46029
Published: May 27, 2026· Updated: May 30, 2026
Official Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/slab: return NULL early from kmalloc_nolock() in NMI on UP
On UP kernels (!CONFIG_SMP), spin_trylock() is a no-op that
unconditionally succeeds even when the lock is already held. As a
result, kmalloc_nolock() called from NMI context can re-enter the slab
allocator and acquire n->list_lock that the interrupted context is
already holding, corrupting slab state.
With CONFIG_DEBUG_SPINLOCK on UP, the following BUG is triggered with
the slub_kunit test module:
BUG: spinlock trylock failure on UP on CPU#0, kunit_try_catch/243
[...]
Call Trace:
<NMI>
dump_stack_lvl+0x3f/0x60
do_raw_spin_trylock+0x41/0x50
_raw_spin_trylock+0x24/0x50
get_from_partial_node+0x120/0x4d0
___slab_alloc+0x8a/0x4c0
kmalloc_nolock_noprof+0x164/0x310
[...]
</NMI>
Fix this by returning NULL early when invoked from NMI on a UP kernel.
Technical Analysis
CVE-2026-46029 requires local access, meaning attackers must already have a foothold on the target system.
Exploitation requires low privileges, which limits the exposure to scenarios where an attacker has already gained initial access.
A successful exploit results in complete confidentiality breach (data exposure), full integrity compromise (data manipulation), availability disruption (denial of service), with a CVSS base score of 7.0.
CVSS v3.1 Vector Breakdown
Affected Vendors & Products
Exploit & PoC Resources
All References (3)
Quick Facts
Recommended Actions
- →Apply vendor patches immediately
- →Monitor CVE-2026-46029 in threat intel feeds
- →Review IDS/IPS signatures for exploitation attempts