Linux Kernel up to 6.12.85/6.18.26/7.0.3 of_unittest_changeset parent use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.85/6.18.26/7.0.3. It has been classified as critical. The impacted element is the function of_unittest_changeset. Performing a manipulation of the argument parent results in use after free. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-46288. No exploit is available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.85/6.18.26/7.0.3. This affects the function of_unittest_changeset. The manipulation of the argument parent with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: of: unittest: fix use-after-free in of_unittest_changeset() The variable 'parent' is assigned the value of 'nchangeset' earlier in the function, meaning both point to the same struct device_node. The call to of_node_put(nchangeset) can decrement the reference count to zero and free the node if there are no other holders. After that, the code still uses 'parent' to check for the presence of a property and to read a string property, leading to a use-after-free. Fix this by moving the of_node_put() call after the last access to 'parent', avoiding the UAF.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-46288 since 05/13/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. 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 06/10/2026).

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 320353 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-46288), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.12.86, 6.18.27, 7.0.4 or 7.1-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 37318d1a27c9cc5a70d3cd7e49e30ec86f2b8ca1/7f0f0926f3010b10cff5e93446258f971e42f2fd/6fdad20b7975bdc32e85b45f8f7c640f6687b81f/faecdd423c27f0d6090156a435ba9dbbac0eaddb 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 (320353). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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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• 6.12.44
• 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
• 6.18.0
• 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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