CVE-2026-72120

Local privilege escalation via CAN BCM use-after-free

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Use-after-free in affected Linux kernels allows local users to escalate privileges or crash the system through CAN BCM operations. The bcm_rx_setup and bcm_tx_setup paths publish partially initialized bcm_op entries without RCU list insertion, while bcm_release leaves entries linked after scheduling reclamation through call_rcu. A local unprivileged process can race CAN_BCM setup or socket closure against procfs traversal, producing kernel memory corruption, privilege escalation, or a system crash.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in affected Linux kernels allows local users to escalate privileges or crash the system through CAN BCM operations. The bcm_rx_setup and bcm_tx_setup paths publish partially initialized bcm_op entries without RCU list insertion, while bcm_release leaves entries linked after scheduling reclamation through call_rcu. A local unprivileged process can race CAN_BCM setup or socket closure against procfs traversal, producing kernel memory corruption, privilege escalation, or a system crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72120
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1068
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=0622846db728a5332b917c797c733e202c4620ae <8e1c7257c81577130f5ce90f69b2a2c3ce63f957
  2. Affected versionversion=19f553a1ddf260da6570ed8f8d91a8c87f49b63a
  3. Affected versionversion=1f912f8484e9c4396378c39460bbea0af681f319 <f53bdab85e64eb57d6899a30d1307fd5a3639cc7
  4. Affected versionversion=5.10.238 <5.10.261
  5. Affected versionversion=5.15.185 <5.15.212
  6. Affected versionversion=5.4.294 <5.5
  7. Affected versionversion=6.1.141 <6.1.178
  8. Affected versionversion=6.12.31 <6.12.97
  9. Affected versionversion=6.14.9 <6.15
  10. Affected versionversion=6.15
  11. Affected versionversion=63567ecd99a24495208dc860d50fb17440043006 <4e22e8b505f877573bbdfdbcb680babad9b2f7a1
  12. Affected versionversion=659701c0b954ccdb4a916a4ad59bbc16e726d42c <8357255e56dc1aaa437e3c53ee9385de984e0d57
  13. Affected versionversion=6.6.93 <6.6.145
  14. Affected versionversion=6d7d458c41b98a5c1670cbd36f2923c37de51cf5 <eb1c26eab4d1f0b4450439b4b88c3e73faf1da98
  15. Affected versionversion=7c9db92d5f0eadca30884af75c53d601edc512ee
  16. Affected versionversion=dac5e6249159ac255dad9781793dbe5908ac9ddb <30f7bb922cb7e7f072a56c7cb7a5efccd2ceca1d
  17. Affected versionversion=dac5e6249159ac255dad9781793dbe5908ac9ddb <7b2c3eabc4dafc062a25e10711154f2107526a78
  18. Affected versionversion=dac5e6249159ac255dad9781793dbe5908ac9ddb <b06a4a397ac826603f39875cb7c7819a41365196

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=0622846db728a5332b917c797c733e202c4620ae <8e1c7257c81577130f5ce90f69b2a2c3ce63f957; version=19f553a1ddf260da6570ed8f8d91a8c87f49b63a; version=1f912f8484e9c4396378c39460bbea0af681f319 <f53bdab85e64eb57d6899a30d1307fd5a3639cc7; version=5.10.238 <5.10.261; version=5.15.185 <5.15.212; version=5.4.294 <5.5; version=6.1.141 <6.1.178; version=6.12.31 <6.12.97; version=6.14.9 <6.15; version=6.15; version=63567ecd99a24495208dc860d50fb17440043006 <4e22e8b505f877573bbdfdbcb680babad9b2f7a1; version=659701c0b954ccdb4a916a4ad59bbc16e726d42c <8357255e56dc1aaa437e3c53ee9385de984e0d57; version=6.6.93 <6.6.145; version=6d7d458c41b98a5c1670cbd36f2923c37de51cf5 <eb1c26eab4d1f0b4450439b4b88c3e73faf1da98; version=7c9db92d5f0eadca30884af75c53d601edc512ee; version=dac5e6249159ac255dad9781793dbe5908ac9ddb <30f7bb922cb7e7f072a56c7cb7a5efccd2ceca1d; version=dac5e6249159ac255dad9781793dbe5908ac9ddb <7b2c3eabc4dafc062a25e10711154f2107526a78; version=dac5e6249159ac255dad9781793dbe5908ac9ddb <b06a4a397ac826603f39875cb7c7819a41365196

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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