CVE-2026-72016

Service interruption via unregistered CPU hotplug

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.15 on arm64 allows local users to interrupt service through CPU hotplug handling. During ACPI startup, smp_prepare_cpus() marks disabled, online-capable CPUs present; cpuhp_smt_enable() later passes their uninitialized device objects to sysfs_create_group(). Exposure requires an arm64 ACPI system whose maximum CPU count exceeds its enabled CPU count, and the resulting NULL kobject path disrupts kernel stability.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Linux kernel 6.15 on arm64 allows local users to interrupt service through CPU hotplug handling. During ACPI startup, smp_prepare_cpus() marks disabled, online-capable CPUs present; cpuhp_smt_enable() later passes their uninitialized device objects to sysfs_create_group(). Exposure requires an arm64 ACPI system whose maximum CPU count exceeds its enabled CPU count, and the resulting NULL kobject path disrupts kernel stability.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72016
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, 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

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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=6.15
  2. Affected versionversion=eed4583bcf9a60f8d6dd3a3c7c94dea28134b1eb <901a489d89ee9c854624c8444090e38e70aed234
  3. Affected versionversion=eed4583bcf9a60f8d6dd3a3c7c94dea28134b1eb <ccdf1770a4ba27e31599d24ad970d77a371c7912
  4. Affected versionversion=eed4583bcf9a60f8d6dd3a3c7c94dea28134b1eb <f9a82544c7174851f5c7524622f5966dcafd3a47

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.15; version=eed4583bcf9a60f8d6dd3a3c7c94dea28134b1eb <901a489d89ee9c854624c8444090e38e70aed234; version=eed4583bcf9a60f8d6dd3a3c7c94dea28134b1eb <ccdf1770a4ba27e31599d24ad970d77a371c7912; version=eed4583bcf9a60f8d6dd3a3c7c94dea28134b1eb <f9a82544c7174851f5c7524622f5966dcafd3a47

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS: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 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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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