CVE-2026-72138

Local denial of service via leaked grant mappings

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Resource leak in the Linux kernel xen/gntdev component allows local users to exhaust memory and interrupt service through grant-map ioctls. When gntdev_ioctl_map_grant_ref() cannot copy a newly added mapping result to userspace, its error path leaves the mapping in priv->maps and retains its reference. A low-privileged local user with access to the Xen grant device can repeat the failing operation until kernel memory exhaustion disrupts the system.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leak in the Linux kernel xen/gntdev component allows local users to exhaust memory and interrupt service through grant-map ioctls. When gntdev_ioctl_map_grant_ref() cannot copy a newly added mapping result to userspace, its error path leaves the mapping in priv->maps and retains its reference. A low-privileged local user with access to the Xen grant device can repeat the failing operation until kernel memory exhaustion disrupts the system.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72138
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-772, T1499.004
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=2.6.39
  2. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <16d3ccdabb8dee9be2cdcd6d3f9a125572ec0454
  3. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <18a693733f7ad004e1ab0466693121ca70cd95dd
  4. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <1dd9cb98fe228e017fff9efb33862ff38c741b65
  5. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <311011f8cc206c5af2877b03e3f627ee1b8fe024
  6. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <45ca1afe2fd14c04e37227e79d3f8455831d8408
  7. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <52dc40ef0cfee6ae89b7524967e73f0ba37906d7
  8. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <6883269a323609f68f6faa903f8f8ff3d191cec8
  9. Affected versionversion=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <6df926130aee6cab9b5d2e5b7862e49ccac348dc

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.39; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <16d3ccdabb8dee9be2cdcd6d3f9a125572ec0454; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <18a693733f7ad004e1ab0466693121ca70cd95dd; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <1dd9cb98fe228e017fff9efb33862ff38c741b65; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <311011f8cc206c5af2877b03e3f627ee1b8fe024; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <45ca1afe2fd14c04e37227e79d3f8455831d8408; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <52dc40ef0cfee6ae89b7524967e73f0ba37906d7; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <6883269a323609f68f6faa903f8f8ff3d191cec8; version=68b025c813c2eb41ff25628e3d4952d5185eb1a4 <6df926130aee6cab9b5d2e5b7862e49ccac348dc

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5OracleCVSS: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 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-772Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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