CVE-2026-46193

What it is

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: ah: account for ESN high bits in async callbacks AH allocates its temporary auth/ICV layout differently when ESN is enabled: the async ahash setup appends a 4-byte seqhi slot before the ICV or auth_data area, but the async completion callbacks still reconstruct the temporary layout as if seqhi were absent. With an async AH implementation selected, that makes AH copy or compare the wrong bytes on both the IPv4 and IPv6 paths. In UML repro on IPv4 AH with ESN and forced async hmac(sha1), ping fails with 100% packet loss, and the callback logs show the pre-fix drift: ah4 output_done: esn=1 err=0 icv_off=20 expected_off=24 ah4 input_done: esn=1 auth_off=20 expected_auth_off=24 icv_off=32 expected_icv_off=36 Reconstruct the callback-side layout the same way the setup path built it by skipping the ESN seqhi slot before locating the saved auth_data or ICV. Per RFC 4302, the ESN high-order 32 bits participate in the AH ICV computation, so the async callbacks must account for the seqhi slot. Post-fix, the same IPv4 AH+ESN+forced-async-hmac(sha1) UML repro shows the corrected offset (ah4 output_done: esn=1 err=0 icv_off=24 expected_off=24) and ping succeeds; net/ipv4/ah4.o and net/ipv6/ah6.o build clean at W=1. IPv6 AH+ESN was not exercised at runtime, and the change has not been tested against a real async hardware AH engine.

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

1. 2026-05-28 10:16 UTC PublishedDisclosed publicly on CVE.org and NVD
2. 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

2026-05-28 10:16 UTC

Last modified

2026-11-10 13:19 UTC

Exploit probability

0.1% · EPSS, next 30 days

Record status

Modified

Affected

• Linux Kernel < 6.6.140
• Linux Kernel < 6.12.88
• Linux Kernel < 6.18.30
• Linux Kernel < 7.0.7
• Linux Kernel 7.1

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

Is it in your code?

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