CVE-2026-72178

Service interruption via leaked PID references

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Resource leak in the Linux kernel allows local users to exhaust PID references through failed DAMON context commits. The damon_commit_target() error path acquires source-target PID references but, when operations are not yet switched to [f]vaddr, the destination context lacks cleanup_target() and does not release them. Triggering the leak requires access to reconfigure a running DAMON context and a commit failure, such as allocation failure with many target regions; repeated leaks can exhaust resources and interrupt service.

CVSS severity4.7
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

Resource leak in the Linux kernel allows local users to exhaust PID references through failed DAMON context commits. The damon_commit_target() error path acquires source-target PID references but, when operations are not yet switched to [f]vaddr, the destination context lacks cleanup_target() and does not release them. Triggering the leak requires access to reconfigure a running DAMON context and a commit failure, such as allocation failure with many target regions; repeated leaks can exhaust resources and interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72178
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-772, CAPEC-469, 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=6.11
  2. Affected versionversion=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <3b91c35961fa5553b4dd36db1f06e3b4acbfc05d
  3. Affected versionversion=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <6a66c557a2ab2609575bafd15e093669c05f9711
  4. Affected versionversion=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <837f619f1d98e967bd63e51ecd1e77bfa468992d
  5. Affected versionversion=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <ea07e045611ca00f1ec7e448fd43e655d311158b

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=6.11; version=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <3b91c35961fa5553b4dd36db1f06e3b4acbfc05d; version=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <6a66c557a2ab2609575bafd15e093669c05f9711; version=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <837f619f1d98e967bd63e51ecd1e77bfa468992d; version=83dc7bbaecae6e69e338355e9a137f0e7a0ecc40 <ea07e045611ca00f1ec7e448fd43e655d311158b

Published CVSS scores

1.9Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
7.0Red HatCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
4.7Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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-772Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime
CAPEC-469HTTP DoS
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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