CVE-2026-46029
mm/slab: return NULL early from kmalloc_nolock() in NMI on UP
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/slab: return NULL early from kmalloc_nolock() in NMI on UP On UP kernels (!CONFIG_SMP), spin_trylock() is a no-op that unconditionally succeeds even when the lock is already held. As a result, kmalloc_nolock() called from NMI context can re-enter the slab allocator and acquire n->list_lock that the interrupted context is already holding, corrupting slab state. With CONFIG_DEBUG_SPINLOCK on UP, the following BUG is triggered with the slub_kunit test module: BUG: spinlock trylock failure on UP on CPU#0, kunit_try_catch/243 [...] Call Trace: <NMI> dump_stack_lvl+0x3f/0x60 do_raw_spin_trylock+0x41/0x50 _raw_spin_trylock+0x24/0x50 get_from_partial_node+0x120/0x4d0 ___slab_alloc+0x8a/0x4c0 kmalloc_nolock_noprof+0x164/0x310 [...] </NMI> Fix this by returning NULL early when invoked from NMI on a UP kernel.
INFO
Published Date :
May 27, 2026, 2:17 p.m.
Last Modified :
May 30, 2026, 11:17 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
Solution
- Update the Linux kernel to include the fix for kmalloc_nolock.
- Apply the patch to the slab allocator logic.
- Ensure NMI context handles spinlocks correctly on UP kernels.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
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CVE-2026-46029.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
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associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
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stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-46029
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
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CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
May. 30, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
May. 27, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/slab: return NULL early from kmalloc_nolock() in NMI on UP On UP kernels (!CONFIG_SMP), spin_trylock() is a no-op that unconditionally succeeds even when the lock is already held. As a result, kmalloc_nolock() called from NMI context can re-enter the slab allocator and acquire n->list_lock that the interrupted context is already holding, corrupting slab state. With CONFIG_DEBUG_SPINLOCK on UP, the following BUG is triggered with the slub_kunit test module: BUG: spinlock trylock failure on UP on CPU#0, kunit_try_catch/243 [...] Call Trace: <NMI> dump_stack_lvl+0x3f/0x60 do_raw_spin_trylock+0x41/0x50 _raw_spin_trylock+0x24/0x50 get_from_partial_node+0x120/0x4d0 ___slab_alloc+0x8a/0x4c0 kmalloc_nolock_noprof+0x164/0x310 [...] </NMI> Fix this by returning NULL early when invoked from NMI on a UP kernel. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5b31044e649e3e54c2caef135c09b371c2fbcd08 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8d95d274be241ad21f6523bf2d6ba0d7d7e46b7 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d66553204a15bdb257d9ef8aca1e12f5fbb910b2