Kernel resource leak via missing mmput calls
Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026
Resource leak in the amdxdna driver in Linux Kernel 6.16 allows local users to retain mm_struct references during NPU memory mapping. In aie2_populate_range(), retry paths jump to again after dropping the mapping reference but omit mmput(mm), so each pass retains the process memory descriptor. Reachability requires an AMD NPU managed by amdxdna and a workload path that triggers a retry; the published record identifies no crash, hang, privilege change, or data impact.
Summary
What happened
Resource leak in the amdxdna driver in Linux Kernel 6.16 allows local users to retain mm_struct references during NPU memory mapping. In aie2_populate_range(), retry paths jump to again after dropping the mapping reference but omit mmput(mm), so each pass retains the process memory descriptor. Reachability requires an AMD NPU managed by amdxdna and a workload path that triggers a retry; the published record identifies no crash, hang, privilege change, or data impact.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63873
- Published
- Jul 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 19, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 19, 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.
- Affected versionversion=6.16
- Affected versionversion=e486147c912f653ef4b60a6c7dbd4168a4c56a9f <21dfec59939120b20d2c7794caaa421f9450be0a
- Affected versionversion=e486147c912f653ef4b60a6c7dbd4168a4c56a9f <2f41af638c92bac6f1f9275ea2d1901baef578f3
- Affected versionversion=e486147c912f653ef4b60a6c7dbd4168a4c56a9f <e83fc4c28226be75fbc0c41f2846935ba2b5f949
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
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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