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CVE-2026-46196

MEDIUM severity · CVSS 5.5
5.5CVSS MEDIUM

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracepoint: balance regfunc() on func_add() failure in tracepoint_add_func() When a tracepoint goes through the 0 -> 1 transition, tracepoint_add_func() invokes the subsystem's ext->regfunc() before attempting to install the new probe via func_add(). If func_add() then fails (for example, when allocate_probes() cannot allocate a new probe array under memory pressure and returns -ENOMEM), the function returns the error without calling the matching ext->unregfunc(), leaving the side effects of regfunc() behind with no installed probe to justify them. For syscall tracepoints this is particularly unpleasant: syscall_regfunc() bumps sys_tracepoint_refcount and sets SYSCALL_TRACEPOINT on every task. After a leaked failure, the refcount is stuck at a non-zero value with no consumer, and every task continues paying the syscall trace entry/exit overhead until reboot. Other subsystems providing regfunc()/unregfunc() pairs exhibit similarly scoped persistent state. Mirror the existing 1 -> 0 cleanup and call ext->unregfunc() in the func_add() error path, gated on the same condition used there so the unwind is symmetric with the registration.

Impact & exploitability

Attack vectorLocal
Attack complexityLow
Privileges requiredLow
User interactionNone
Confidentiality impactNone
Integrity impactNone
Availability impactHigh
Exploit probability (EPSS)0%

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected products we track (1)

Recommendation

Apply the vendor fix in your normal patch cycle. Open any affected product above for its exact safe version.

Official patch: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/247ed8a969f981bfba3112fd4bb441eaa6cef59c ↗