CVE-2026-46283 tpm: Use kfree_sensitive() to free auth session in tpm_dev_release()

What is CVE-2026-46283?

CVE-2026-46283 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 8 Jun 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:

tpm: Use kfree_sensitive() to free auth session in tpm_dev_release()

tpm_dev_release() uses plain kfree() to free chip->auth, which contains sensitive cryptographic material including HMAC session keys, nonces, and passphrase data (struct tpm2_auth).

Every other code path that frees this structure uses kfree_sensitive() to zero the memory before releasing it: both tpm2_end_auth_session() and tpm_buf_check_hmac_response() do so. The tpm_dev_release() path is the only one that does not, leaving key material in freed slab memory until it is eventually overwritten.

Use kfree_sensitive() for consistency with the rest of the driver and to ensure session keys are scrubbed during device teardown.

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46283?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-46283?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-46283 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46283 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-2026-46283, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46283, GHSA-c745-g7j9-cpw5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46283.