CVE-2026-46333
ptrace: slightly saner 'get_dumpable()' logic
Description
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.
CVSS Vector Breakdown
AV:LAttack VectorAC:LAttack ComplexityPR:LPrivileges RequiredUI:NUser InteractionS:UScopeC:HConfidentialityI:HIntegrityA:NAvailabilityWeaknesses
Affected Products
Exploitability
Attack Graph
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MITRE ATT&CK
1 techniqueReferences
- Weekly Metasploit Update: NTLM Relay Priv Esc, MCP Server Integration, Paperclip AI RCE Chain, and moreen·Rapid7 Blog· PoC Metasploit Framework rce
- CVE-2026-46333: Local Root Privilege Escalation and Credential Disclosure in the Linux Kernel ptrace Pathen-us·Qualys Security Blog· PoC Linux kernel privilege-escalation
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