CVE-2026-72098Network attack vector

Kernel memory corruption via FEC off-by-one

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Buffer overflow in Linux dm-verity 4.5 through 6.18.41 and 6.19 through 7.1.4 allows attackers to corrupt kernel memory via malformed FEC data. The erasure counter can reach roots plus one, causing decode_rs8 to write lambda[nroots+1] past the locator array and overwrite syn[0]. Triggering the write requires dm-verity FEC to process more erasures than the configured Reed-Solomon root count, corrupting the syndrome buffer.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability0.66%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Buffer overflow in Linux dm-verity 4.5 through 6.18.41 and 6.19 through 7.1.4 allows attackers to corrupt kernel memory via malformed FEC data. The erasure counter can reach roots plus one, causing decode_rs8 to write lambda[nroots+1] past the locator array and overwrite syn[0]. Triggering the write requires dm-verity FEC to process more erasures than the configured Reed-Solomon root count, corrupting the syndrome buffer.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72098
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

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=4.5
  2. Affected versionversion=a739ff3f543afbb4a041c16cd0182c8e8d366e70 <31d6e6c0ba8d5a7bd59660035a089307100c5e8e
  3. Affected versionversion=a739ff3f543afbb4a041c16cd0182c8e8d366e70 <5488d3a69d205e28f74f18857b853aa12e778e66
  4. Affected versionversion=a739ff3f543afbb4a041c16cd0182c8e8d366e70 <f7990c2b0f08b8841fcd2652d1d7002f5994a7a7

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.5; version=a739ff3f543afbb4a041c16cd0182c8e8d366e70 <31d6e6c0ba8d5a7bd59660035a089307100c5e8e; version=a739ff3f543afbb4a041c16cd0182c8e8d366e70 <5488d3a69d205e28f74f18857b853aa12e778e66; version=a739ff3f543afbb4a041c16cd0182c8e8d366e70 <f7990c2b0f08b8841fcd2652d1d7002f5994a7a7

Published CVSS scores

9.8kernel.orgCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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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