CVE-2026-72341

Kernel crash via mlx5e statistics publication race

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Race condition in affected Linux 5.17 and later kernels allows local users to crash the kernel via mlx5e statistics queries. mlx5e_channel_stats_alloc publishes channel_stats before stats_nch without release ordering, so a reader can observe the new count but dereference a stale NULL entry. Exploitation requires mlx5e hardware on a weakly ordered architecture and a statistics query racing NIC bringup; the bounded consequence is a kernel NULL-pointer crash.

CVSS severity4.7
Medium
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Race condition in affected Linux 5.17 and later kernels allows local users to crash the kernel via mlx5e statistics queries. mlx5e_channel_stats_alloc publishes channel_stats before stats_nch without release ordering, so a reader can observe the new count but dereference a stale NULL entry. Exploitation requires mlx5e hardware on a weakly ordered architecture and a statistics query racing NIC bringup; the bounded consequence is a kernel NULL-pointer crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72341
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499.004
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=5.17
  2. Affected versionversion=fa691d0c9c0812b9045f3a9420862e47b3b92518 <5a799714e8ca0bce9ea40694f49914cf1adbbaa9
  3. Affected versionversion=fa691d0c9c0812b9045f3a9420862e47b3b92518 <5c7e3755abf663f033de24f917b77685e9543045
  4. Affected versionversion=fa691d0c9c0812b9045f3a9420862e47b3b92518 <815515ec68f527ca755cb1e2c1ff9148f6b3ea56

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.17; version=fa691d0c9c0812b9045f3a9420862e47b3b92518 <5a799714e8ca0bce9ea40694f49914cf1adbbaa9; version=fa691d0c9c0812b9045f3a9420862e47b3b92518 <5c7e3755abf663f033de24f917b77685e9543045; version=fa691d0c9c0812b9045f3a9420862e47b3b92518 <815515ec68f527ca755cb1e2c1ff9148f6b3ea56

Published CVSS scores

4.7Amazon 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

T1499.004Endpoint Denial of Service: Application or System Exploitation

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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