CVE-2026-46288 of: unittest: fix use-after-free in of_unittest_changeset()

What is CVE-2026-46288?

CVE-2026-46288 is a high-severity use after free 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:

of: unittest: fix use-after-free in of_unittest_changeset()

The variable 'parent' is assigned the value of 'nchangeset' earlier in the function, meaning both point to the same struct device_node. The call to of_node_put(nchangeset) can decrement the reference count to zero and free the node if there are no other holders. After that, the code still uses 'parent' to check for the presence of a property and to read a string property, leading to a use-after-free.

Fix this by moving the of_node_put() call after the last access to 'parent', avoiding the UAF.

Weakness: CWE-416

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46288?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-46288?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.

Is CVE-2026-46288 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46288 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-2026-46288, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-46288, GHSA-5j9p-c334-fvcp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-46288.