CVE-2026-23250

Kernel crash via unchecked subordinate scrub allocation

Published Mar 18, 2026 · Updated Mar 18, 2026

Pointer dereference in Linux Kernel XFS online scrub 6.10 and later allows local users to crash the kernel during allocation failure. xchk_scrub_create_subord returns an ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM) sentinel when kzalloc fails, but its scrub and repair callers dereference the result as a valid subordinate context. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to invoke the affected XFS online scrub path while the allocation fails; the reported consequence is availability loss only.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.12%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Pointer dereference in Linux Kernel XFS online scrub 6.10 and later allows local users to crash the kernel during allocation failure. xchk_scrub_create_subord returns an ERR_PTR(-ENOMEM) sentinel when kzalloc fails, but its scrub and repair callers dereference the result as a valid subordinate context. Reachability requires local low-privileged access to invoke the affected XFS online scrub path while the allocation fails; the reported consequence is availability loss only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23250
Published
Mar 18, 2026
Updated
Mar 18, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499.004
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 18, 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=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <2b658d1249666cc55af9484dcf5f45ca438d4ecc
  2. Affected versionversion=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <b2df809edd8cb7d1c3e19d9f6aabc2bd55d2bfb6
  3. Affected versionversion=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <ca27313fb3f23e4ac18532ede4ec1c7cc5814c4a
  4. Affected versionversion=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <d6f3f7d4dd8a179394cef03c00993d57f5f68601
  5. Affected versionversion=6.10

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <2b658d1249666cc55af9484dcf5f45ca438d4ecc; version=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <b2df809edd8cb7d1c3e19d9f6aabc2bd55d2bfb6; version=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <ca27313fb3f23e4ac18532ede4ec1c7cc5814c4a; version=1a5f6e08d4e379a23da5be974aee50b26a20c5b0 <d6f3f7d4dd8a179394cef03c00993d57f5f68601; version=6.10

Published CVSS scores

5.5SUSECVSS: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
6.8SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS: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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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