Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.87/6.18.29/7.0.6 hfsplus hfsplus_strcasecmp uninitialized pointer

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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5.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.87/6.18.29/7.0.6. It has been classified as critical. The impacted element is the function hfsplus_strcasecmp of the component hfsplus. This manipulation causes uninitialized pointer. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-46169. No exploit exists. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.87/6.18.29/7.0.6 and classified as critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function hfsplus_strcasecmp of the component hfsplus. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a uninitialized pointer vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-824. The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hfsplus: fix uninit-value by validating catalog record size Syzbot reported a KMSAN uninit-value issue in hfsplus_strcasecmp(). The root cause is that hfs_brec_read() doesn't validate that the on-disk record size matches the expected size for the record type being read. When mounting a corrupted filesystem, hfs_brec_read() may read less data than expected. For example, when reading a catalog thread record, the debug output showed: HFSPLUS_BREC_READ: rec_len=520, fd->entrylength=26 HFSPLUS_BREC_READ: WARNING - entrylength (26) < rec_len (520) - PARTIAL READ! hfs_brec_read() only validates that entrylength is not greater than the buffer size, but doesn't check if it's less than expected. It successfully reads 26 bytes into a 520-byte structure and returns success, leaving 494 bytes uninitialized. This uninitialized data in tmp.thread.nodeName then gets copied by hfsplus_cat_build_key_uni() and used by hfsplus_strcasecmp(), triggering the KMSAN warning when the uninitialized bytes are used as array indices in case_fold(). Fix by introducing hfsplus_brec_read_cat() wrapper that: 1. Calls hfs_brec_read() to read the data 2. Validates the record size based on the type field: - Fixed size for folder and file records - Variable size for thread records (depends on string length) 3. Returns -EIO if size doesn't match expected For thread records, check against HFSPLUS_MIN_THREAD_SZ before reading nodeName.length to avoid reading uninitialized data at call sites that don't zero-initialize the entry structure. Also initialize the tmp variable in hfsplus_find_cat() as defensive programming to ensure no uninitialized data even if validation is bypassed.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-46169 since 05/13/2026. 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 06/22/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 321690 (SUSE SLES12 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2026:2450-1)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.140, 6.12.88, 6.18.30, 7.0.7 or 7.1-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 61a790974ff7e533acbceca06c7d02f22bf96d4d/c91bbd6193c70a02c50c22e0fb1f60c3c5bd053a/a420904450962a562ad053a41a53a27755021b48/93e8d613f1a01b6637f387cc93f184cf7fb881d6/b6b592275aeff184aa82fcf6abccd833fb71b393 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.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at Tenable (321690). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.4

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VectorComplexityAuthenticationConfidentialityIntegrityAvailability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Uninitialized pointer
CWE: CWE-824 / CWE-908
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 321690
Nessus Name: SUSE SLES12 Security Update : kernel (SUSE-SU-2026:2450-1)

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.140/6.12.88/6.18.30/7.0.7/7.1-rc1
Patch: 61a790974ff7e533acbceca06c7d02f22bf96d4d/c91bbd6193c70a02c50c22e0fb1f60c3c5bd053a/a420904450962a562ad053a41a53a27755021b48/93e8d613f1a01b6637f387cc93f184cf7fb881d6/b6b592275aeff184aa82fcf6abccd833fb71b393

Timelineinfo

05/13/2026 CVE reserved
05/28/2026 +15 days Advisory disclosed
05/28/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
06/22/2026 +25 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-46169 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-46169
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-366637

Entryinfo

Created: 05/28/2026 13:24
Updated: 06/22/2026 14:44
Changes: 05/28/2026 13:24 (59), 06/11/2026 15:17 (10), 06/22/2026 14:44 (2)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

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