CVE-2026-23087

Local denial of service via unreleased scsiback allocation

Published Feb 4, 2026 · Updated Feb 4, 2026

Memory leak in the Linux Kernel Xen SCSI backend allows local users to exhaust host memory by repeatedly removing backend devices. scsiback_probe() allocates a vscsiblk_info structure, but scsiback_remove() and probe error paths discard it without freeing the allocation. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and the Xen SCSI backend; accumulated allocations can interrupt host availability.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the Linux Kernel Xen SCSI backend allows local users to exhaust host memory by repeatedly removing backend devices. scsiback_probe() allocates a vscsiblk_info structure, but scsiback_remove() and probe error paths discard it without freeing the allocation. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and the Xen SCSI backend; accumulated allocations can interrupt host availability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23087
Published
Feb 4, 2026
Updated
Feb 4, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 4, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 4, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.18
  2. Affected versionversion=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <24c441f0e24da175d7912095663f526ac480dc4f
  3. Affected versionversion=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <32e52b56056daf0f0881fd9254706acf25b4be97
  4. Affected versionversion=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <901a5f309daba412e2a30364d7ec1492fa11c32c
  5. Affected versionversion=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <f86264ec0e2b102fcd49bf3e4f32fee669d482fc

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=3.18; version=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <24c441f0e24da175d7912095663f526ac480dc4f; version=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <32e52b56056daf0f0881fd9254706acf25b4be97; version=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <901a5f309daba412e2a30364d7ec1492fa11c32c; version=d9d660f6e562a47b4065eeb7e538910b0471b988 <f86264ec0e2b102fcd49bf3e4f32fee669d482fc

Published CVSS scores

5.5UbuntuCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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