CVE-2026-72163

Kernel panic via aborted OCFS2 journal handle

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

NULL pointer dereference in Linux OCFS2 allows local users to crash affected kernels through direct writes over unwritten extents. ocfs2_assure_trans_credits reads credits through a cleared transaction pointer after an aborted journal handle is incorrectly retained as usable. Write access to a mounted OCFS2 filesystem and a journal abort during DIO completion are required; the bounded consequence is a kernel panic.

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

NULL pointer dereference in Linux OCFS2 allows local users to crash affected kernels through direct writes over unwritten extents. ocfs2_assure_trans_credits reads credits through a cleared transaction pointer after an aborted journal handle is incorrectly retained as usable. Write access to a mounted OCFS2 filesystem and a journal abort during DIO completion are required; the bounded consequence is a kernel panic.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72163
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-476, T1499
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=320273b5649bbcee87f9e65343077189699d2a7a <942b818b396c24c452681803ff291552317d2ef1
  2. Affected versionversion=331d1079d58206ff7dc5518185f800b412f89bc6
  3. Affected versionversion=5.10.221 <5.10.261
  4. Affected versionversion=5.15.162 <5.15.212
  5. Affected versionversion=6.10
  6. Affected versionversion=6.1.97 <6.1.178
  7. Affected versionversion=6.6.37 <6.6.145
  8. Affected versionversion=6.9.8 <6.10
  9. Affected versionversion=9ea2d1c6789722d58ec191f14f9a02518d55b6b4 <7146d191dae3a8efdb957993fb61a55713186266
  10. Affected versionversion=a68b896aa56e435506453ec8835bc991ec3ae687 <2d80e9c56718435a9c9f5f24dbc954989aead579
  11. Affected versionversion=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <253ed993e0b36997ec7b04c1ff76103b38241de2
  12. Affected versionversion=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <6ad7532a23bc94076efe9f1486dd7f7493c090ff
  13. Affected versionversion=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <bd73971fad89d5ee4ea0ba9b92d2ea08733c4a64
  14. Affected versionversion=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <f9ab30c96b0f00c20c6dac93681bdae3a033d229
  15. Affected versionversion=c05ffb693bfb42a48ef3ee88a55b57392984e111 <f14aaaa130356ee4adb44de947c098637c70df8f

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=320273b5649bbcee87f9e65343077189699d2a7a <942b818b396c24c452681803ff291552317d2ef1; version=331d1079d58206ff7dc5518185f800b412f89bc6; version=5.10.221 <5.10.261; version=5.15.162 <5.15.212; version=6.10; version=6.1.97 <6.1.178; version=6.6.37 <6.6.145; version=6.9.8 <6.10; version=9ea2d1c6789722d58ec191f14f9a02518d55b6b4 <7146d191dae3a8efdb957993fb61a55713186266; version=a68b896aa56e435506453ec8835bc991ec3ae687 <2d80e9c56718435a9c9f5f24dbc954989aead579; version=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <253ed993e0b36997ec7b04c1ff76103b38241de2; version=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <6ad7532a23bc94076efe9f1486dd7f7493c090ff; version=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <bd73971fad89d5ee4ea0ba9b92d2ea08733c4a64; version=be346c1a6eeb49d8fda827d2a9522124c2f72f36 <f9ab30c96b0f00c20c6dac93681bdae3a033d229; version=c05ffb693bfb42a48ef3ee88a55b57392984e111 <f14aaaa130356ee4adb44de947c098637c70df8f

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
4.7Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
6.8SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
5.5SUSECVSS: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-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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