CVE-2026-72010

Kernel crash via empty cpuset nodemask rebind

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Divide-by-zero in the Linux kernel allows local users to crash the system through cpuset and memory-policy operations during CPU hotplug. The cpuset rebind path passes an empty cs->mems_allowed nodemask to mpol_relative_nodemask, whose __nodes_fold() call divides by zero instead of using the nonempty effective_mems mask. Triggering the fault requires control of a child cpuset, a VMA relative-nodes policy, and CPU offline and online operations, and the consequence is a local system crash.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Divide-by-zero in the Linux kernel allows local users to crash the system through cpuset and memory-policy operations during CPU hotplug. The cpuset rebind path passes an empty cs->mems_allowed nodemask to mpol_relative_nodemask, whose __nodes_fold() call divides by zero instead of using the nonempty effective_mems mask. Triggering the fault requires control of a child cpuset, a VMA relative-nodes policy, and CPU offline and online operations, and the consequence is a local system crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72010
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 15, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.17
  2. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <02f67c4f88be8e3dbd91951d13cdcc5bcc82e9c7
  3. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <4b06449384b9ee5b3372bab60601ba5cd4162086
  4. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <b7adeba2a21c98c7b20f18e27e3ead86bdb5e08d
  5. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <b983c56426383e4a06fa5970c4e33cee879b1482
  6. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <c17f06d8a085d6be58b544a440ce243f5e441a60
  7. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <c844b7d9a9586de15dd28c06da5cc7f6ab28787d
  8. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <fc680afc510157f6b137956011c09abc23eb0842
  9. Affected versionversion=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <fcc8c310539c3cc523419113b227161a96b50550

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.17; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <02f67c4f88be8e3dbd91951d13cdcc5bcc82e9c7; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <4b06449384b9ee5b3372bab60601ba5cd4162086; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <b7adeba2a21c98c7b20f18e27e3ead86bdb5e08d; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <b983c56426383e4a06fa5970c4e33cee879b1482; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <c17f06d8a085d6be58b544a440ce243f5e441a60; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <c844b7d9a9586de15dd28c06da5cc7f6ab28787d; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <fc680afc510157f6b137956011c09abc23eb0842; version=ae1c802382f7af60aa54879fb4f5920a9df1ff48 <fcc8c310539c3cc523419113b227161a96b50550

Published CVSS scores

5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS: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.

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No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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