CVE-2026-72028

Kernel crash via unsaved kretprobe stack pointer

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Access of an uninitialized pointer in Linux kernel kretprobes allows local users to crash affected RISC-V systems via stack reads. The arch_rethook_trampoline saves other registers but not the original stack pointer, leaving regs->sp with an arbitrary value when stack-fetch code dereferences it. The trigger requires permission to configure kernel tracing, and the documented consequence is a kernel paging failure and system interruption.

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

Access of an uninitialized pointer in Linux kernel kretprobes allows local users to crash affected RISC-V systems via stack reads. The arch_rethook_trampoline saves other registers but not the original stack pointer, leaving regs->sp with an arbitrary value when stack-fetch code dereferences it. The trigger requires permission to configure kernel tracing, and the documented consequence is a kernel paging failure and system interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72028
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-824, 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=5.12
  2. Affected versionversion=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <2faf0198168d2017cb528a79f76c560fda3b6e94
  3. Affected versionversion=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <5da5cf48a432e30ded8d58087854e5383a36eff1
  4. Affected versionversion=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <91b4d76dd07f1a1f20f73dfebb42ba04ac911a56
  5. Affected versionversion=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <bc7b086a45521a986a49045907f017e3e46c763e
  6. Affected versionversion=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <c386e1c591d72eab58ee2e69105c8cbc70928857

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.12; version=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <2faf0198168d2017cb528a79f76c560fda3b6e94; version=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <5da5cf48a432e30ded8d58087854e5383a36eff1; version=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <91b4d76dd07f1a1f20f73dfebb42ba04ac911a56; version=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <bc7b086a45521a986a49045907f017e3e46c763e; version=c22b0bcb1dd024cb9caad9230e3a387d8b061df5 <c386e1c591d72eab58ee2e69105c8cbc70928857

Published CVSS scores

4.4Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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-824Access of Uninitialized Pointer
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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