CVE-2026-72375

Local denial of service via stale AFS work

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Missing resource initialization in the Linux kernel AFS component allows local users to make the system unresponsive. The inode slab initializer sets afs_vnode::lock_work only once, so reused inodes can queue stale work; eviction also fails to flush pending lock work. An unprivileged local user with access to an AFS mount can cycle POSIX locks and inode reuse, causing kernel warnings, an oops, or a hang.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Missing resource initialization in the Linux kernel AFS component allows local users to make the system unresponsive. The inode slab initializer sets afs_vnode::lock_work only once, so reused inodes can queue stale work; eviction also fails to flush pending lock work. An unprivileged local user with access to an AFS mount can cycle POSIX locks and inode reuse, causing kernel warnings, an oops, or a hang.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-72375
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-909, CWE-665, 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

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=2.6.23
  2. Affected versionversion=e8d6c554126b830217c5e9f549e0e21f865a0a8a <5597fbd1e7c161914f20315a726e54025b0fdadb
  3. Affected versionversion=e8d6c554126b830217c5e9f549e0e21f865a0a8a <63d3f283858fae097fb09ddd4ce46bb0bc1f9d01
  4. Affected versionversion=e8d6c554126b830217c5e9f549e0e21f865a0a8a <ebfd13c0367adb43d7c0a72f5cd7e004e60c6b28

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=2.6.23; version=e8d6c554126b830217c5e9f549e0e21f865a0a8a <5597fbd1e7c161914f20315a726e54025b0fdadb; version=e8d6c554126b830217c5e9f549e0e21f865a0a8a <63d3f283858fae097fb09ddd4ce46bb0bc1f9d01; version=e8d6c554126b830217c5e9f549e0e21f865a0a8a <ebfd13c0367adb43d7c0a72f5cd7e004e60c6b28

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
5.5SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.7SUSECVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
2.5Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

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-909Missing Initialization of Resource
CWE-665Improper Initialization
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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