# CVE-2026-23134: slab: fix kmalloc_nolock() context check for PREEMPT_RT

> A missing context check in the Linux kernel's slab allocator on PREEMPT_RT systems can cause a kernel panic when BPF programs run with preemption disabled.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23134, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23134, GHSA-gc4v-h3f5-h83f, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23134

## What is CVE-2026-23134?

CVE-2026-23134 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

slab: fix kmalloc_nolock() context check for PREEMPT_RT

On PREEMPT_RT kernels, local_lock becomes a sleeping lock. The current
check in kmalloc_nolock() only verifies we're not in NMI or hard IRQ
context, but misses the case where preemption is disabled.

When a BPF program runs from a tracepoint with preemption disabled
(preempt_count > 0), kmalloc_nolock() proceeds to call
local_lock_irqsave() which attempts to acquire a sleeping lock,
triggering:

  BUG: sleeping function called from invalid context
  in_atomic(): 1, irqs_disabled(): 0, non_block: 0, pid: 6128
  preempt_count: 2, expected: 0

Fix this by checking !preemptible() on PREEMPT_RT, which directly
expresses the constraint that we cannot take a sleeping lock when
preemption is disabled. This encompasses the previous checks for NMI
and hard IRQ contexts while also catching cases where preemption is
disabled.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23134?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23134?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23134 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23134 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23134 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23134 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23134 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23134/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23134/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23134
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23134
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23134

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23134/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.