CVE-2026-64279

Local privilege escalation via I2C teardown race

Published Jul 25, 2026 · Updated Jul 25, 2026

Race condition in the Linux Kernel I2C core before 7.2-rc1 allows local users to execute kernel code through adapter teardown. i2c_del_adapter leaves the adapter in the IDR while tearing down its embedded device, letting concurrent i2c_get_adapter calls retain and dereference freed resources. A regular user needs permitted access to both /dev/i2c-N and the relevant USB device node and must race repeatable disconnect or rebind operations; success can disclose or corrupt kernel memory, execute kernel code, or crash the host.

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

Race condition in the Linux Kernel I2C core before 7.2-rc1 allows local users to execute kernel code through adapter teardown. i2c_del_adapter leaves the adapter in the IDR while tearing down its embedded device, letting concurrent i2c_get_adapter calls retain and dereference freed resources. A regular user needs permitted access to both /dev/i2c-N and the relevant USB device node and must race repeatable disconnect or rebind operations; success can disclose or corrupt kernel memory, execute kernel code, or crash the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-64279
Published
Jul 25, 2026
Updated
Jul 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-362, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jul 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=2.6.31
  2. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <11dfa37bf544cc806f21742ca2fd2d841bd7032e
  3. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <35dbd1f1f603401155cbd3a180bb18e3a3b675b8
  4. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <9882a9bd74db08e7bae5821a7050627ae92d3380
  5. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <b1a58ed9eab146b36f41a55db8f5d7ce9fdedf3f
  6. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <b6d2af6fe9c1f5ec0484536753c979cbd40a8ac3
  7. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <bb234487a447a99315add1b46aa57b72e163e1eb
  8. Affected versionversion=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <d39282f552dd6c35b9b84b4af78f1198c24f3373

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linux Kernelversion=2.6.31; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <11dfa37bf544cc806f21742ca2fd2d841bd7032e; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <35dbd1f1f603401155cbd3a180bb18e3a3b675b8; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <9882a9bd74db08e7bae5821a7050627ae92d3380; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <b1a58ed9eab146b36f41a55db8f5d7ce9fdedf3f; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <b6d2af6fe9c1f5ec0484536753c979cbd40a8ac3; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <bb234487a447a99315add1b46aa57b72e163e1eb; version=35fc37f8188177e3ba3e7f99a6e3300e490e9181 <d39282f552dd6c35b9b84b4af78f1198c24f3373

Published CVSS scores

7.8kernel.orgCVSS: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-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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