CVE-2026-31672

Local denial of service via unreleased USB anchor

Published Apr 24, 2026 · Updated Apr 24, 2026

Memory leak in the rt2x00usb driver in the Linux kernel allows local users to reduce availability during repeated driver unbinds. The rt2x00usb_probe function allocates its USB anchor against the parent USB device instead of the bound USB interface, so interface-managed cleanup does not release it on unbind. Exposure requires an rt2x00 USB device and an unbind without physical disconnection, such as during probe deferral or configuration changes; each occurrence leaves kernel memory unavailable.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.11%
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 rt2x00usb driver in the Linux kernel allows local users to reduce availability during repeated driver unbinds. The rt2x00usb_probe function allocates its USB anchor against the parent USB device instead of the bound USB interface, so interface-managed cleanup does not release it on unbind. Exposure requires an rt2x00 USB device and an unbind without physical disconnection, such as during probe deferral or configuration changes; each occurrence leaves kernel memory unavailable.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-31672
Published
Apr 24, 2026
Updated
Apr 24, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-401, T1499.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Apr 24, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Apr 24, 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=4.7
  2. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <15b233e33b35b927bd8d0044c15325564ea1ba24
  3. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <1de5c76bf40e9cdeebf54662f63011fb10fa452f
  4. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <25369b22223d1c56e42a0cd4ac9137349d5a898e
  5. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <64a457f6afbf15f984d95201a9a1e71eed3f9dd1
  6. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <65518a6965d527c53013947031f26754f6a4f6af
  7. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <b245db719bc7e57abf48bd5701662b270c3880f7
  8. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <c99f198841b41735796e2ddfcd573783fb552eb9
  9. Affected versionversion=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <e360d15fcb1e819eef49e3d4434d8050542eed16

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=4.7; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <15b233e33b35b927bd8d0044c15325564ea1ba24; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <1de5c76bf40e9cdeebf54662f63011fb10fa452f; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <25369b22223d1c56e42a0cd4ac9137349d5a898e; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <64a457f6afbf15f984d95201a9a1e71eed3f9dd1; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <65518a6965d527c53013947031f26754f6a4f6af; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <b245db719bc7e57abf48bd5701662b270c3880f7; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <c99f198841b41735796e2ddfcd573783fb552eb9; version=8b4c0009313f3d42e2540e3e1f776097dd0db73d <e360d15fcb1e819eef49e3d4434d8050542eed16

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS: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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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
T1499.001OS Exhaustion Flood

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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