LiveActive security incident?Get immediate response
CVE Record

CVE-2026-46229: drm/amdkfd: Clear VRAM on allocation to prevent stale data exposure

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/amdkfd: Clear VRAM on allocation to prevent stale data exposure KFD VRAM allocations set AMDGPU_GEM_CREATE_VRAM_WIPE_ON_RELEASE but not AMDGPU_GEM_CREATE_VRAM_CLEARED, leaving freshly allocated VRAM with stale data from prior use observable by compute kernels. The GEM ioctl path already sets VRAM_CLEARED for all userspace allocations via amdgpu_gem_create_ioctl() and amdgpu_mode_dumb_create(). The KFD path was missing this flag, allowing stale page table remnants to leak into user buffers. This causes crashes in RCCL P2P transport where non-zero data in ptrExchange/head/tail fields corrupts the protocol handshake.

UnknownCVSS not scoredNot KEV-listedUpdated
Discuss exposureBack to CVEs
Glexia's TakeAutomated analysismoderate

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This Linux kernel issue can expose old data left in AMD GPU VRAM when new compute buffers are allocated through KFD. It matters most on systems running AMD GPU compute workloads, especially shared or multi-tenant environments. The sources describe data exposure and crashes, but provide no CVSS score or evidence of active exploitation.

Executive priority

Treat this as a moderate-priority confidentiality and reliability issue for AMD GPU compute infrastructure. It is not supported as internet-exploited from the supplied sources, but shared compute systems could expose stale GPU memory between workloads if left unpatched.

Technical view

The amdkfd VRAM allocation path set wipe-on-release but missed the flag that clears VRAM on allocation. Fresh KFD allocations could contain stale data, including page table remnants, visible to compute kernels. The normal GEM userspace allocation paths already cleared VRAM; the KFD path is the gap fixed by the referenced kernel stable commits.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to Linux systems using AMDGPU KFD for GPU compute VRAM allocations. Shared GPU compute hosts, ROCm-like workloads, and RCCL P2P environments deserve priority review. Systems without AMDGPU KFD compute use appear less exposed based on the provided description.

Exploitation context

The source bundle does not report KEV listing, public exploitation, exploit code, or remote attack paths. The described impact is local stale VRAM data exposure to compute kernels and reliability problems, including RCCL P2P transport crashes caused by unexpected non-zero fields.

Researcher notes

Key research question is exposure boundary: which local users can trigger KFD VRAM allocations and observe stale buffers. The supplied record does not provide CVSS, CWE, proof-of-concept status, or fixed release mapping beyond stable commit references, so validation should be kernel-build and vendor-advisory driven.

Mitigation direction

  • Apply kernel vendor updates that include the referenced stable fixes.
  • Prioritize shared AMD GPU compute hosts and RCCL P2P environments.
  • Check distribution advisories for fixed kernel packages and backports.
  • Reduce cross-tenant GPU sharing until patched where sensitive workloads run.
  • Follow vendor guidance if fixed package mapping is unclear.

Validation and detection

  • Inventory Linux hosts using AMDGPU KFD or GPU compute workloads.
  • Confirm running kernels include one of the referenced stable fixes or vendor backports.
  • Review affected branches against vendor kernel advisory data.
  • Test representative RCCL P2P workloads after patching for regression.
  • Document whether GPU compute hosts are single-tenant or shared.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
7

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.

cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2026-46229 mapping review

Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.

Open ATT&CK lookup
Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Unknown
CVSS
Not scored
Known Exploited
No
Published
Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

0CVSS vectors
3Timeline events
0ADP providers
6Source links

Vulnerability timeline

Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.

  1. CVE reservedCVE Program

    The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.

  2. CVE publishedCVE Program

    The CVE record was published.

  3. CVE updatedCVE Program

    The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
LinuxLinux6856e4b65f64eeb3f17148f79b36c1d60c627529, 6856e4b65f64eeb3f17148f79b36c1d60c627529, 6856e4b65f64eeb3f17148f79b36c1d60c627529, 6856e4b65f64eeb3f17148f79b36c1d60c627529, 6856e4b65f64eeb3f17148f79b36c1d60c627529unaffected
LinuxLinux5.4, 0, 6.6.140, 6.12.90, 6.18.32, 7.0.9, 7.1affected
Weakness

CWE details

No CWE listed

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.