CVE-2026-46188 octeon_ep_vf: add NULL check for napi_build_skb()

What is CVE-2026-46188?

CVE-2026-46188 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 28 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:

octeon_ep_vf: add NULL check for napi_build_skb()

napi_build_skb() can return NULL on allocation failure. In __octep_vf_oq_process_rx(), the result is used directly without a NULL check in both the single-buffer and multi-fragment paths, leading to a NULL pointer dereference.

Add NULL checks after both napi_build_skb() calls, properly advancing descriptors and consuming remaining fragments on failure.

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46188?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-46188?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-46188 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46188 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-46188, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46188, GHSA-jqmp-h258-vvv4, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46188.