Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.85/6.18.26/7.0.3 net ctrl_cmd_bye memory leak

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.85/6.18.26/7.0.3. It has been classified as critical. This affects the function ctrl_cmd_bye of the component net. Performing a manipulation results in an unknown weakness. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-46038. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.85/6.18.26/7.0.3. This affects the function ctrl_cmd_bye of the component net. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: qrtr: ns: Free the node during ctrl_cmd_bye() A node sends the BYE packet when it is about to go down. So the nameserver should advertise the removal of the node to all remote and local observers and free the node finally. But currently, the nameserver doesn't free the node memory even after processing the BYE packet. This causes the node memory to leak. Hence, remove the node from Xarray list and free the node memory during both success and failure case of ctrl_cmd_bye().

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-46038 since 05/13/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/17/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1499 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 6.6.140, 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4 or 7.1-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch ff78ed177a66763085e3214d6fbe13ca8f0b3f11/65932f5102bb5377db36c8a4f0c28179a1967a9a/154fc7fe3f62c46891c3c4302f4b5b5391c932e6/076e4b162d6caba12c229e7f262df5b6881162b0/68efba36446a7774ea5b971257ade049272a07ac is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.6.139
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
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• 6.12.56
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• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
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• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.12.72
• 6.12.73
• 6.12.74
• 6.12.75
• 6.12.76
• 6.12.77
• 6.12.78
• 6.12.79
• 6.12.80
• 6.12.81
• 6.12.82
• 6.12.83
• 6.12.84
• 6.12.85
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 7.0.0
• 7.0.1
• 7.0.2
• 7.0.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

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