CVE-2026-23317

Kernel memory corruption via stale error handling

Published Mar 25, 2026 · Updated Mar 25, 2026

Memory-safety failure in the vmwgfx driver in Linux Kernel allows local users to trigger invalid kernel memory accesses. The vmw_translate_mob_ptr and vmw_translate_guest_ptr error paths pass an uninitialized buffer pointer to PTR_ERR instead of returning the failed vmw_user_bo_lookup error code, so failed lookups can appear successful. Low-privileged local access and use of the VMware virtual graphics driver are required; subsequent uninitialized and out-of-bounds accesses can expose, alter, or crash kernel memory.

CVSS severity7.8
High
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-safety failure in the vmwgfx driver in Linux Kernel allows local users to trigger invalid kernel memory accesses. The vmw_translate_mob_ptr and vmw_translate_guest_ptr error paths pass an uninitialized buffer pointer to PTR_ERR instead of returning the failed vmw_user_bo_lookup error code, so failed lookups can appear successful. Low-privileged local access and use of the VMware virtual graphics driver are required; subsequent uninitialized and out-of-bounds accesses can expose, alter, or crash kernel memory.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-23317
Published
Mar 25, 2026
Updated
Mar 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-908
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 25, 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=6.2
  2. Affected versionversion=7ac9578e45b20e3f3c0c8eb71f5417a499a7226a <ce3a5cf139787c186d5d54336107298cacaad2b9
  3. Affected versionversion=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <149f028772fa2879d9316b924ce948a6a0877e45
  4. Affected versionversion=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <36cb28b6d303a81e6ed4536017090e85e0143e42
  5. Affected versionversion=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <5023ca80f9589295cb60735016e39fc5cc714243
  6. Affected versionversion=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <531f45589787799aa81b63e1e1f8e71db5d93dd1
  7. Affected versionversion=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <7e55d0788b362c93660b80cc5603031bbbdefa98

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=6.2; version=7ac9578e45b20e3f3c0c8eb71f5417a499a7226a <ce3a5cf139787c186d5d54336107298cacaad2b9; version=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <149f028772fa2879d9316b924ce948a6a0877e45; version=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <36cb28b6d303a81e6ed4536017090e85e0143e42; version=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <5023ca80f9589295cb60735016e39fc5cc714243; version=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <531f45589787799aa81b63e1e1f8e71db5d93dd1; version=a309c7194e8a2f8bd4539b9449917913f6c2cd50 <7e55d0788b362c93660b80cc5603031bbbdefa98

Published CVSS scores

7.8LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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-908Use of Uninitialized Resource

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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