CVE-2026-72240

Service interruption via leaked device references

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Resource leakage in the Linux kernel SM501 MFD driver allows local users to exhaust kernel resources after device registration fails. On the error path in sm501_register_device(), platform_device_register() initializes pdev->dev, but the caller returns without dropping that reference. Local low-privileged access and a failing SM501 platform-device registration path are required, and repeated failures can interrupt service.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 17, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource leakage in the Linux kernel SM501 MFD driver allows local users to exhaust kernel resources after device registration fails. On the error path in sm501_register_device(), platform_device_register() initializes pdev->dev, but the caller returns without dropping that reference. Local low-privileged access and a failing SM501 platform-device registration path are required, and repeated failures can interrupt service.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72240
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-400, CWE-771, 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=2.6.21
  2. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <0baf9d43a7b7b43df2900bd8656e75b725028b6e
  3. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <16a42c88c4667fa0bd944e438a667e059551f1f1
  4. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <2ff8156fd500d54c61430b6834137fd0a07047ce
  5. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <760a1029692f1d788dc11aa636a3bf432e58b240
  6. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <8c2f0b42fc252e1bf1c7746447091a468e784ca1
  7. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <a3e340d506c1036a747fb0972aebf1063f7ef30e
  8. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <bbb1ecaed4ed7680e63d3a0f143f03de32de5d6e
  9. Affected versionversion=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <e2dac91380a10e9e8d5883fb73ce9d9b390a629c

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.21; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <0baf9d43a7b7b43df2900bd8656e75b725028b6e; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <16a42c88c4667fa0bd944e438a667e059551f1f1; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <2ff8156fd500d54c61430b6834137fd0a07047ce; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <760a1029692f1d788dc11aa636a3bf432e58b240; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <8c2f0b42fc252e1bf1c7746447091a468e784ca1; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <a3e340d506c1036a747fb0972aebf1063f7ef30e; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <bbb1ecaed4ed7680e63d3a0f143f03de32de5d6e; version=b6d6454fdb66f3829af8b92ab06825b6060fdf7e <e2dac91380a10e9e8d5883fb73ce9d9b390a629c

Published CVSS scores

5.5Oracle LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
2.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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 11, 2026Sep 17, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 17, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
CWE-771Missing Reference to Active Allocated Resource
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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