CVE-2026-46238 | batman-adv: stop caching unowned originator pointers in BAT IV

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: stop caching unowned originator pointers in BAT IV BAT IV keeps the last-hop neighbor address in each neigh_node, but some paths also cache an originator pointer derived from a temporary lookup. That pointer is not owned by the neigh_node and may no longer refer to a live originator entry after purge handling runs. Stop storing the auxiliary originator pointer in the BAT IV neighbor state. When BAT IV needs the neighbor originator data, resolve it from the stored neighbor address and drop the reference again after use. [sven: avoid bonding logic for outgoing OGM]

Published: 2026-05-28 Last update: 2026-06-10 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-46238 is rated Moderate Risk (41.6/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.27%). Mandatory action: Review affected assets and schedule remediation.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-46238

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.02% 0.27% +0.25%
2 2026-05-28 0.02%

Full EPSS history (2 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-46238

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:A/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:A)
Attacker has to be nearby on the network—same office, same link, that vibe—not the whole wide internet.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-46238

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-46238

GHSA-vhmf-xjjg-5pxr · Severity: high — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: batman-adv: stop caching...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-46238

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-46238 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-46238
redhat https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-46238
suse https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-46238/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-46238 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1422 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1024, ignored 173, needed 141, released 84. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-46238

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-46238

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
linux linux_kernel >= 2.6.38, < 5.10.258 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.11, < 5.15.209 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 5.16, < 6.1.175 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.2, < 6.6.140 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.7, < 6.12.90 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.13, < 6.18.32 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel >= 6.19, < 7.0.9 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
linux linux_kernel 7.1 cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:7.1:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-46238

cvelogic Threat Intelligence