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Privilege escalation vulnerability in Linux kernel __ptrace_may_access() disclosed after nine years

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A nine-year-old privilege escalation vulnerability in the Linux kernel, tracked as CVE-2026-46333 (CVSS 5.5), has been publicly disclosed. The flaw stems from improper privilege management in the kernel’s __ptrace_may_access() function, enabling unprivileged local users to execute arbitrary commands as root or disclose sensitive files such as /etc/shadow and SSH host keys on default installations of major distributions including Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu. Exploitation can occur through four distinct attack vectors targeting chage, ssh-keysign, pkexec, and accounts-daemon, providing reliable local root access. A proof-of-concept exploit has been released alongside kernel fixes, and workarounds include raising kernel.yama.ptrace_scope to 2.

Timeline

  1. 21.05.2026 10:35 1 articles · 4h ago

    CVE-2026-46333 Linux kernel privilege escalation vulnerability disclosed with PoC available

    CVE-2026-46333, a nine-year-old Linux kernel vulnerability in __ptrace_may_access(), was disclosed with a CVSS score of 5.5. The flaw enables local unprivileged users to execute arbitrary commands as root or disclose sensitive files including /etc/shadow and SSH host keys on default installations of Debian, Fedora, and Ubuntu. A public PoC exploit was released shortly after kernel patches, with four exploitation vectors identified. Temporary mitigation via kernel.yama.ptrace_scope=2 is recommended until kernel updates can be applied.

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