Kernel fault via uninitialized memcard structures
Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026
Uninitialized-data access in the vmu-flash MTD map driver in Linux allows attackers to trigger an unaligned-access fault. The vmu_connect function allocates memcard, vmupart, and mtd_info structures without zeroing them, leaving fields read by mtd_get_fact_prot_info uninitialized. Reachability requires the Dreamcast VMU driver and physical VMU hardware; the published record reports the fault but no broader impact.
Summary
What happened
Uninitialized-data access in the vmu-flash MTD map driver in Linux allows attackers to trigger an unaligned-access fault. The vmu_connect function allocates memcard, vmupart, and mtd_info structures without zeroing them, leaving fields read by mtd_get_fact_prot_info uninitialized. Reachability requires the Dreamcast VMU driver and physical VMU hardware; the published record reports the fault but no broader impact.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-72168
- Published
- Aug 15, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 15, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 15, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.30
- Affected versionversion=47a72688fae7298e1ad5fdc9bff7e04b6a549620 <01928835d80829e615a492aa66c629b953ec7bef
- Affected versionversion=47a72688fae7298e1ad5fdc9bff7e04b6a549620 <19360c25135fccb6bbafbee49a5f66baf9a311af
- Affected versionversion=47a72688fae7298e1ad5fdc9bff7e04b6a549620 <455519f6b70f46ac6cbf41a75ac76ec5e59040f2
- Affected versionversion=47a72688fae7298e1ad5fdc9bff7e04b6a549620 <79d1661502c6e4b6f626185cef72cf2fa78116e1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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