CVE-2026-74551

Local privilege escalation via DMA buffer misalignment

Published Aug 15, 2026 · Updated Aug 15, 2026

Memory corruption in the Linux nzxt-smart2 hwmon driver allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through sysfs writes. The send_output_report() path passes a cacheline-sharing output buffer to USB HID for direct DMA mapping, so cache maintenance overwrites the adjacent mutex and update_interval fields. An NZXT device must be bound on a non-coherent architecture such as ARM or MIPS; triggering the path can deadlock, oops, or panic the kernel and can support local privilege escalation.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory corruption in the Linux nzxt-smart2 hwmon driver allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through sysfs writes. The send_output_report() path passes a cacheline-sharing output buffer to USB HID for direct DMA mapping, so cache maintenance overwrites the adjacent mutex and update_interval fields. An NZXT device must be bound on a non-coherent architecture such as ARM or MIPS; triggering the path can deadlock, oops, or panic the kernel and can support local privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-74551
Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 15, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1068
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=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <080bbf42faf77e6489ab30d5114c5f8f6ccbb1b8
  3. Affected versionversion=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <2332d35aaf206c17acf848522817252732596676
  4. Affected versionversion=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <51a76bc1b8e717ee3fc0d84f15ac51490ca5f76f
  5. Affected versionversion=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <6a2dbce5da2d2163a5b684acf68a0e54582ff0fa
  6. Affected versionversion=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <70ad543ce81f368411b6c721265a3b2d7ab4fda4

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=5.17; version=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <080bbf42faf77e6489ab30d5114c5f8f6ccbb1b8; version=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <2332d35aaf206c17acf848522817252732596676; version=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <51a76bc1b8e717ee3fc0d84f15ac51490ca5f76f; version=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <6a2dbce5da2d2163a5b684acf68a0e54582ff0fa; version=53e68c20aeb1e23419bed811aa3a309ceda200f9 <70ad543ce81f368411b6c721265a3b2d7ab4fda4

Published CVSS scores

7.8Linux CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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

T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

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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