Kernel memory exhaustion via unreleased scan masks
Published Jul 25, 2026 · Updated Jul 25, 2026
Memory leak in the IIO hardware-consumer buffer code in Linux Kernel 7.1 allows local users to exhaust kernel memory. The iio_hw_buf_release() path frees the buffer wrapper but not the separately allocated buffer.scan_mask bitmap. Local low-privileged access is required; repeated buffer release cycles retain one scan-mask allocation each and degrade availability.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the IIO hardware-consumer buffer code in Linux Kernel 7.1 allows local users to exhaust kernel memory. The iio_hw_buf_release() path frees the buffer wrapper but not the separately allocated buffer.scan_mask bitmap. Local low-privileged access is required; repeated buffer release cycles retain one scan-mask allocation each and degrade availability.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-64498
- Published
- Jul 25, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 25, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=7.1
- Affected versionversion=9a2e1233d38c460ad07f36901931f3674a32d1ed <6325d6e2204327965b849c0a16efb6ac9202e5a8
- Affected versionversion=9a2e1233d38c460ad07f36901931f3674a32d1ed <fb8e18f8ca724bd4de4643cad5b7c7230b9a5a71
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo