Kernel memory exhaustion via failed SPI submissions
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Memory leak in the Linux CA8210 IEEE 802.15.4 driver allows attackers to exhaust kernel memory via sustained SPI bus contention. ca8210_spi_transfer() allocates cas_ctl before spi_async(), but a failed submission never invokes the sole completion callback that frees it. The exchange and interrupt paths retry on -EBUSY, leaking roughly 600 bytes per iteration; reachability requires the CA8210 driver and sustained SPI contention.
Summary
What happened
Memory leak in the Linux CA8210 IEEE 802.15.4 driver allows attackers to exhaust kernel memory via sustained SPI bus contention. ca8210_spi_transfer() allocates cas_ctl before spi_async(), but a failed submission never invokes the sole completion callback that frees it. The exchange and interrupt paths retry on -EBUSY, leaking roughly 600 bytes per iteration; reachability requires the CA8210 driver and sustained SPI contention.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-72048
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1499
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=4.12
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <460c5cd51e4d7d15b317f178f42cfcb666c0fe91
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <7e3630fbb6aabb844bbf35746dee0bf3894100c7
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <b07aea90dbc6e188c74c100af64b77b9482ffc65
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <b9071dc7889bef42590e04fbf3e56cc65e1e5e6e
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <cb5cca1d2a908ddd5e357971de0f2009617b8d6a
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <d4a397fe803c2d157f6ebb068b802ef75fbf109e
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <e09390e439bd7cca30dd10893b1f64802961667a
- Affected versionversion=ded845a781a578dfb0b5b2c138e5a067aa3b1242 <fe90605b651573d30be8293ff5be40e3d7023117
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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