---
id: CVE-2026-46283
title: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  tpm: Use kfree_sensitive() to free auth session in tpm_dev_release()

  tpm_dev_release() uses plain kfree() to free chip->auth, which contains
  sensitive cryptographic ma…
summary: |-
  In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

  tpm: Use kfree_sensitive() to free auth session in tpm_dev_release()

  tpm_dev_release() uses plain kfree() to free chip->auth, which contains
  sensitive cryptographic ma…
severity: none
published: '2026-06-08'
updated: '2026-07-07'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46283'
references:
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/53e6d2d834df40960b655b353e7a8ff4d927e1c7'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/84ced03172da544c9f8c0862faad48104f519352'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c424d2664f08c77f08b4580b5f0cbaabf7c229b2'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd3ac52ea7a001406c7dbc663aae4b9f89da679a'
    label: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
tags:
  - nvd
epss: 0.00162
epssPercentile: 0.04615
ingestedAt: '2026-07-07T18:42:24.277Z'
---

## Overview

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

tpm: Use kfree_sensitive() to free auth session in tpm_dev_release()

tpm_dev_release() uses plain kfree() to free chip->auth, which contains
sensitive cryptographic material including HMAC session keys, nonces,
and passphrase data (struct tpm2_auth).

Every other code path that frees this structure uses kfree_sensitive()
to zero the memory before releasing it: both tpm2_end_auth_session()
and tpm_buf_check_hmac_response() do so. The tpm_dev_release() path
is the only one that does not, leaving key material in freed slab
memory until it is eventually overwritten.

Use kfree_sensitive() for consistency with the rest of the driver and
to ensure session keys are scrubbed during device teardown.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.