Local kernel panic via poisoned policy node
Published Aug 5, 2026 · Updated Aug 5, 2026
Expired-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel xfrm policy subsystem allows local users to trigger a kernel panic under memory pressure. An inverted guard in xfrm_hash_rebuild skips preallocation for inexact policies, and a failed GFP_ATOMIC insertion leaves a poisoned bydst node that the next rebuild dereferences. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and induced allocation failure; the demonstrated consequence is a fatal availability interruption.
Summary
What happened
Expired-pointer dereference in the Linux kernel xfrm policy subsystem allows local users to trigger a kernel panic under memory pressure. An inverted guard in xfrm_hash_rebuild skips preallocation for inexact policies, and a failed GFP_ATOMIC insertion leaves a poisoned bydst node that the next rebuild dereferences. Exploitation requires low-privileged local access and induced allocation failure; the demonstrated consequence is a fatal availability interruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-64579
- Published
- Aug 5, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 5, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- CWE-825, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 5, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 5, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=24969facd704a5f0dd8e08da86bf32a9ce972bee <6aa3796d18a9fda953ad76a62b57bf6c145cb9ef
- Affected versionversion=24969facd704a5f0dd8e08da86bf32a9ce972bee <7acc5ed2f33608a3d83b64f50a5766843b6e2485
- Affected versionversion=24969facd704a5f0dd8e08da86bf32a9ce972bee <94c00391a5117530188334f740ce26d3f1256190
- Affected versionversion=24969facd704a5f0dd8e08da86bf32a9ce972bee <d9d9cc21cc90014724a14c447e3d587be9447107
- Affected versionversion=24969facd704a5f0dd8e08da86bf32a9ce972bee <f38f8cce2f7e79775b3db7e8a5eacda04ac908e4
- Affected versionversion=5.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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