CVE-2026-72281

Locked-memory exhaustion via mischarged pKVM teardown

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Improper resource accounting in KVM arm64 in Linux 7.1 through 7.1.4 allows local users to exhaust locked-memory availability. Protected-guest teardown decrements current->mm rather than the VM's stored mm, so closing the final descriptor from a child leaves the parent's VmLck charge behind. Exploitation requires an arm64 host running protected KVM, access to create and fault a protected VM, and control of the final descriptor close.

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

Improper resource accounting in KVM arm64 in Linux 7.1 through 7.1.4 allows local users to exhaust locked-memory availability. Protected-guest teardown decrements current->mm rather than the VM's stored mm, so closing the final descriptor from a child leaves the parent's VmLck charge behind. Exploitation requires an arm64 host running protected KVM, access to create and fault a protected VM, and control of the final descriptor close.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72281
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-911, T1499.001
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=4e6e03f9eaddb6be5ca8477dc5642e94ddece47e <34d8d7242c52c174add6b413d56420aa60f8054c
  2. Affected versionversion=4e6e03f9eaddb6be5ca8477dc5642e94ddece47e <d098bb75d14fde2f12155f1a95ec0168160867ce
  3. Affected versionversion=7.1

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4e6e03f9eaddb6be5ca8477dc5642e94ddece47e <34d8d7242c52c174add6b413d56420aa60f8054c; version=4e6e03f9eaddb6be5ca8477dc5642e94ddece47e <d098bb75d14fde2f12155f1a95ec0168160867ce; version=7.1

Published CVSS scores

5.5SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5Amazon LinuxCVSS: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-911Improper Update of Reference Count
T1499.001Endpoint Denial of Service: OS Exhaustion Flood

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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