# CVE-2026-46001: hwmon: (pt5161l) Fix bugs in pt5161l_read_block_data()

> A buffer overflow in the Linux kernel pt5161l hardware monitoring driver allows attackers to cause memory corruption and potential code execution via malicious I2C responses.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 27 May 2026
- **Updated:** 14 Jun 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-46001, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46001, GHSA-j98c-q2pf-9m22, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46001

## What is CVE-2026-46001?

CVE-2026-46001 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 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:

hwmon: (pt5161l) Fix bugs in pt5161l_read_block_data()

Fix two bugs in pt5161l_read_block_data():

1. Buffer overrun: The local buffer rbuf is declared as u8 rbuf[24],
   but i2c_smbus_read_block_data() can return up to
   I2C_SMBUS_BLOCK_MAX (32) bytes. The i2c-core copies the data into
   the caller's buffer before the return value can be checked, so
   the post-read length validation does not prevent a stack overrun
   if a device returns more than 24 bytes. Resize the buffer to
   I2C_SMBUS_BLOCK_MAX.

2. Unexpected positive return on length mismatch: When all three
   retries are exhausted because the device returns data with an
   unexpected length, i2c_smbus_read_block_data() returns a positive
   byte count. The function returns this directly, and callers treat
   any non-negative return as success, processing stale or incomplete
   buffer contents. Return -EIO when retries are exhausted with a
   positive return value, preserving the negative error code on I2C
   failure.

Weakness: CWE-787 (Out-of-bounds Write)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46001?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-46001?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-46001 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46001 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-2026-46001 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-46001 is a high-severity memory corruption vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 27 May 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-2026-46001 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-2026-46001/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46001/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-46001
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46001
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-46001

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-46001/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.