Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.89/6.18.31/7.0.8 vsock virtio_transport_recv_listen privilege escalation

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.89/6.18.31/7.0.8. This affects the function virtio_transport_recv_listen of the component vsock. This manipulation causes an unknown weakness. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-46214. No exploit is available. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.139/6.12.89/6.18.31/7.0.8. Affected by this vulnerability is the function virtio_transport_recv_listen of the component vsock. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vsock/virtio: fix accept queue count leak on transport mismatch virtio_transport_recv_listen() calls sk_acceptq_added() before vsock_assign_transport(). If vsock_assign_transport() fails or selects a different transport, the error path returns without calling sk_acceptq_removed(), permanently incrementing sk_ack_backlog. After approximately backlog+1 such failures, sk_acceptq_is_full() returns true, causing the listener to reject all new connections. Fix by moving sk_acceptq_added() to after the transport validation, matching the pattern used by vmci_transport and hyperv_transport.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-46214 since 05/13/2026. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 06/11/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.6.140, 6.12.90, 6.18.32, 7.0.9 or 7.1-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 65c484726e74013a2ec7ba67a34d87760ae8f390/29371f3cc83e2a92265b4768014a30b80234112f/e9edf9893cf26d060705c910a9b62d8cc96ed56a/6d3275fc4ed968938e1d556c344798046776668d/52bcb57a4e8a0865a76c587c2451906342ae1b2d 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
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 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
• 6.12.86
• 6.12.87
• 6.12.88
• 6.12.89
• 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
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 7.0.0
• 7.0.1
• 7.0.2
• 7.0.3
• 7.0.4
• 7.0.5
• 7.0.6
• 7.0.7
• 7.0.8

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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