CVE Intelligence
High Privilege escalation exploit reference

CVE-2026-46333 — ptrace: slightly saner 'get_dumpable()' logic

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ptrace: slightly saner 'get_dumpable()' logic The 'dumpability' of a task is fundamentally about the memory image of the task - the concept comes from whether it can core dump or not - and makes no sense when you don't have an associated mm. And almost all users do in fact use it only for the case where the task has a mm pointer. But we have one odd special case: ptrace_may_access() uses 'dumpable' to check various other things entirely independently of the MM (typically explicitly using flags like PTRACE_MODE_READ_FSCREDS). Including for threads that no longer have a VM (and maybe never did, like most kernel threads). It's not what this flag was designed for, but it is what it is. The ptrace code does check that the uid/gid matches, so you do have to be uid-0 to see kernel thread details, but this means that the traditional "drop capabilities" model doesn't make any difference for this all. Make it all make a *bit* more sense by saying that if you don't have a MM pointer, we'll use a cached "last dumpability" flag if the thread ever had a MM (it will be zero for kernel threads since it is never set), and require a proper CAP_SYS_PTRACE capability to override.

Published May 15, 2026 · Updated Oct 14, 2026 · Sources: NIST National Vulnerability Database, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP, GitHub Security Advisories · CNA: Linux

Who exploits it and how urgent it is

A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.

No exploitation signal in the sources consulted so far.
How the score was calculated
  • EPSS 0.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+6
  • Technical severity (high)+6
  • CISA SSVC: exploitation "poc"+5

The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

Exploitation
Not confirmed
Not in CISA KEV — an absence of record, not proof it is unexploited.
EPSS FIRST
0.51%
ahead of 42% of scored CVEs · Oct 14, 2026
Affects
Debian
Debian Linux and 2 more
CVSS base
7.1
High · 4 source(s)
Prioritization reference: 7.8 provisional

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Exploitation
Proof of concept
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script the kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)
  • Documented patch — git.kernel.org (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

  1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Debian Debian Linux, Linux Linux, Linux Linux Kernel).
  2. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
  3. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (privilege escalation), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

VendorProductVersionsStatusSource
Debian Debian Linux version 11.0 Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database
Linux Linux ≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 15b828a46f305ae9f05a7c16914b3ce273474205version 4.10≥ 4.9.1 and < 4.10≥ 4.8.16 and < 4.9≥ 4.4.40 and < 4.5≥ 3.16.52 and < 3.17version 694a95fa6dae4991f16cda333d897ea063021fedversion e45692fa1aea06676449b63ef3c2b6e1e72b7578
and 9 more version 03eed7afbc09e061f66b448daf7863174c3dc3f3version d5b3e840dbf6dd2c0f30b5982b6f5ecd49e46b12≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 31e62c2ebbfdc3fe3dbdf5e02c92a9dc67087a3a≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 01363cb3fbd0238ffdeb09f53e9039c9edf8a730≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 2a93a4fac7b6051d3be7cd1b015fe7320cd0404d≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 6e5b51e74a40d377bcd3081dd33fbaa0e1aa7e3d≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 8f907d345bae8f4b3f004c5abc56bf2dfb851ea7≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 4709234fd1b95136ceb789f639b1e7ea5de1b181≥ bfedb589252c01fa505ac9f6f2a3d5d68d707ef4 and < 93d4ba49d18e3d7fb41a9927c2d0cca5e9dfefd6
Vulnerable CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
Linux Linux Kernel version 7.1-rc3version 7.1-rc2version 7.1-rc1≥ 6.19 and < 7.0.8≥ 6.13 and < 6.18.31≥ 6.7 and < 6.12.89≥ 6.2 and < 6.6.139≥ 5.16 and < 6.1.173
and 5 more ≥ 5.11 and < 5.15.207≥ 4.9.1 and < 5.10.256≥ 4.8.16 and < 4.9≥ 4.4.40 and < 4.5≥ 3.16.52 and < 3.17
Vulnerable NIST National Vulnerability Database

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

ScoreVersionSeverityExpl.ImpactScored by
7.8 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.9 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.1 CVSS 3.1 High 1.8 5.2 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 via NIST National Vulnerability Database
7.1 CVSS 3.1 High — — Linux via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
5.5 CVSS 3.1 Medium — — GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N (score shown at the top: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67)
Sources disagree significantly and the divergence is under review. Every score is kept with its origin. For prioritization we use 7.8 (0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c via NIST National Vulnerability Database) as a conservative provisional reference — not a definitive official score.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-269 · Improper Privilege Management

Other CVEs with this weakness →

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 0.51%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

  • Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
endpoint telemetry (EDR)

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

  • 2026
  • Affected products added · linux/linux
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • SSVC assessment updated
    Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
  • Record published
    Oct 13, 2026
  • Fix documented
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVSS changed · 7.1
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Source status changed · → Modified
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • Record created in this database
    Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
  • CVE published
    May 15, 2026 · Linux

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

  • 2× References added · Oct 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026
  • 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

45 on the record

Elsewhere on this site

Debian
every CVE for this vendor
Privilege escalation
same class
CWE-269
other pages naming this weakness

Related CVEs (same products)

  • CVE-2026-99999 ipv4: validate checksum_start before completing checksum 4h
  • CVE-2026-98432 ipv4: free inet_opt and ireq_opt after an RCU grace period 4h
  • CVE-2026-98424 wifi: cfg80211: undo netns switch if renaming the wiphy fails 1d
  • CVE-2026-98425 wifi: mac80211: don't warn when an IBSS has no channel to scan 1d
  • CVE-2026-98426 wifi: mwifiex: fix IRQ leak using wrong index in MSI-X error path 1d
  • CVE-2026-98427 net/sched: codel: bound the dropping loop per dequeue call 1d

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

  • No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
  • No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
  • No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2026-46333 is "ptrace: slightly saner 'get_dumpable()' logic", rated High. It affects Debian Linux (Debian); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 7.1 describes technical severity. EPSS 0.51% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

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