CVE-2026-72159

Local denial of service via forged directory dinodes

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Unchecked loop condition in Linux OCFS2 allows local users to cause a service hang by processing forged filesystem metadata. ocfs2_dir_foreach_blk_el() walks to the untrusted i_size even when a non-inline directory dinode claims zero clusters, repeatedly failing on holes. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a crafted OCFS2 volume; sparse regular files, system inodes, and inline-data dinodes are excluded.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Unchecked loop condition in Linux OCFS2 allows local users to cause a service hang by processing forged filesystem metadata. ocfs2_dir_foreach_blk_el() walks to the untrusted i_size even when a non-inline directory dinode claims zero clusters, repeatedly failing on holes. Exploitation requires local low-privileged access and a crafted OCFS2 volume; sparse regular files, system inodes, and inline-data dinodes are excluded.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72159
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-606, 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=2.6.29
  2. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <2174c68f623b74bd8690a4a6a4a52882d8ac3dc3
  3. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <38c1ef7ce50eb4af0f89038b8aba12396ddb9233
  4. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <3bfeb436d4be6a2beb56cab344770e93e6b07260
  5. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <416d3e5f8a30ed04fe21ba7dc73c2841c3b56265
  6. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <7ebc672fab7a76e1e47e0f2fc1ee48118d27fde4
  7. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <83f6756a7b71adec0a41ae68e079a38906d59c6c
  8. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <d837068eefbc2651fe5789bf75a0f945710f7b8e
  9. Affected versionversion=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <ed0f938f946f16b772e99cb8c277ab57828e5be4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.29; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <2174c68f623b74bd8690a4a6a4a52882d8ac3dc3; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <38c1ef7ce50eb4af0f89038b8aba12396ddb9233; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <3bfeb436d4be6a2beb56cab344770e93e6b07260; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <416d3e5f8a30ed04fe21ba7dc73c2841c3b56265; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <7ebc672fab7a76e1e47e0f2fc1ee48118d27fde4; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <83f6756a7b71adec0a41ae68e079a38906d59c6c; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <d837068eefbc2651fe5789bf75a0f945710f7b8e; version=b657c95c11088d77fc1bfc9c84d940f778bf9d12 <ed0f938f946f16b772e99cb8c277ab57828e5be4

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS: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-606Unchecked Input for Loop Condition
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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