CVE-2026-46165: linux Improper Locking

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2026-46165 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Improper Locking vulnerability in linux. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 2% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 28-05-2026
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 15-10-2026
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: openvswitch: vport: fix self-deadlock on release of tunnel ports vports are used concurrently and protected by RCU, so netdev_put() must happen after the RCU grace period. So, either in an RCU call or after the synchronize_net(). The rtnl_delete_link() must happen under RTNL and so can't be executed in RCU context. Calling synchronize_net() while holding RTNL is not a good idea for performance and system stability under load in general, so calling netdev_put() in RCU call is the right solution here. However, when the device is deleted, rtnl_unlock() will call netdev_run_todo() and block until all the references are gone. In the current code this means that we never reach the call_rcu() and the vport is never freed and the reference is never released, causing a self-deadlock on device removal. Fix that by moving the rcu_call() before the rtnl_unlock(), so the scheduled RCU callback will be executed when synchronize_net() is called from the rtnl_unlock()->netdev_run_todo() while the RTNL itself is already released.

• CWE-667Improper LockingThe product does not properly acquire or release a lock on a resource, leading to unexpected resource state changes and behaviors.