CVE-2026-72176

Kernel crash via uninitialized DAMON pointer dereference

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Memory-management error handling in Linux kernel 6.2 and later before applicable stable fixes allows local users to crash the kernel. In damon_sysfs_scheme_add_dirs(), failure while creating tried_regions releases that uninitialized object instead of the completed stats object, leaking stats and dereferencing an uninitialized pointer. The path requires CONFIG_DAMON_SYSFS, privileged DAMON scheme creation, and an allocation failure; the bounded impact is a local service interruption.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.20%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory-management error handling in Linux kernel 6.2 and later before applicable stable fixes allows local users to crash the kernel. In damon_sysfs_scheme_add_dirs(), failure while creating tried_regions releases that uninitialized object instead of the completed stats object, leaking stats and dereferencing an uninitialized pointer. The path requires CONFIG_DAMON_SYSFS, privileged DAMON scheme creation, and an allocation failure; the bounded impact is a local service interruption.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72176
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-824, 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=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <05ea83ee88ca70f8932906d9f2617ff996f45b50
  2. Affected versionversion=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <40a04601a3f66cabd6629c258a07af645a658865
  3. Affected versionversion=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <50a753171d255895e5dd41566986b48dcec06f31
  4. Affected versionversion=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <6b6b5d7c2c957136b92c00b77b7175259f13082b
  5. Affected versionversion=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <f63d6e5ba72aeacdee4fddc902bd7616cd62b919
  6. Affected versionversion=6.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <05ea83ee88ca70f8932906d9f2617ff996f45b50; version=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <40a04601a3f66cabd6629c258a07af645a658865; version=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <50a753171d255895e5dd41566986b48dcec06f31; version=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <6b6b5d7c2c957136b92c00b77b7175259f13082b; version=5181b75f438d2e5b7f27bf48c6ea88a87c2882b7 <f63d6e5ba72aeacdee4fddc902bd7616cd62b919; version=6.2

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS: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-824Access of Uninitialized Pointer
T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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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