CVE-2026-46021

5.5 MEDIUM 0.1% exploit odds Fix listed Memory safety OS & kernel

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: thermal: core: Fix thermal zone governor cleanup issues If thermal_zone_device_register_with_trips() fails after adding a thermal governor to the thermal zone being registered, the governor is not removed from it as appropriate which may lead to a memory leak. In turn, thermal_zone_device_unregister() calls thermal_set_governor() without acquiring the thermal zone lock beforehand which may race with a governor update via sysfs and may lead to a use-after-free in that case. Address these issues by adding two thermal_set_governor() calls, one to thermal_release() to remove the governor from the given thermal zone, and one to the thermal zone registration error path to cover failures preceding the thermal zone device registration.

At a glance

Exploitability: Can be exploited locally on the machine with a low-privilege account. High risk of service disruption.
Exploit odds: 0.1% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Fix: A patch, advisory or fixed version is referenced. Upgrade or apply it.

Timeline

2026-05-27 14:17 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2026-11-10 13:19 UTC Last updatedMost recent change to the record

Why it ranks here

Exploited in the wild: no, CISA does not list it.
Exploit odds: 0.1% in the next 30 days (EPSS).
Severity: 5.5 MEDIUM (CVSS).
Fix: a patch or advisory is linked.

Details

Published: 2026-05-27 14:17 UTC
Last modified: 2026-11-10 13:19 UTC
Exploit probability: 0.1% · EPSS, next 30 days
Weakness: CWE-401
Record status: Modified

Affected

Linux Kernel < 6.6.140
Linux Kernel < 6.12.86
Linux Kernel < 6.18.27
Linux Kernel < 7.0.4

Attack profile CVSS 3.1 · 5.5

Attack vector: Local
Complexity: Low
Privileges needed: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: None
Integrity: None
Availability: High

Raw vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Is it in your code?

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Read https://cve-list.com/agent/cve/CVE-2026-46021.md and follow it. Check whether this project is affected by CVE-2026-46021. Read only. Don't change anything and don't upload my code. Tell me yes, no or not sure, with the file as proof.

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Fix and advisories

References

NVD record · CVE.org record