CVE-2026-74604

Local privilege escalation via freed hwmon object

Published Aug 22, 2026 · Updated Aug 25, 2026

Use-after-free in Linux kernel thermal hwmon allows local users to escalate privileges through a dangling shared hwmon object. thermal_add_hwmon_sysfs() frees an existing shared object when registration fails because a validity check was removed, while thermal and hwmon state retain references to that memory. Reachability requires a second thermal zone sharing an hwmon type and failed registration; later sysfs access can disclose or corrupt kernel memory or crash the host.

CVSS severity8.4
High
EPSS probability0.14%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Use-after-free in Linux kernel thermal hwmon allows local users to escalate privileges through a dangling shared hwmon object. thermal_add_hwmon_sysfs() frees an existing shared object when registration fails because a validity check was removed, while thermal and hwmon state retain references to that memory. Reachability requires a second thermal zone sharing an hwmon type and failed registration; later sysfs access can disclose or corrupt kernel memory or crash the host.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-74604
Published
Aug 22, 2026
Updated
Aug 25, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
CWE-825, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 22, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 25, 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=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <2434f4765da8ccd7ef31be88b86f1bfa2e95be11
  2. Affected versionversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <6a48ee9a5bda0f8ee501f9bef159fb9f39ff519a
  3. Affected versionversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <6b446d335ba16e93a266dd77adf1ba51abc82df4
  4. Affected versionversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <8d34019d1413629a434a7e8d9f91c76d256196a0
  5. Affected versionversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <999e573212d5f1debf073c68be35e55bbfad12fc
  6. Affected versionversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <b4c01ae6dd56d9dfd96bd1b29c28afa8fa06b366
  7. Affected versionversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <ff8da20b6f47c48d46e47f93f7a59e2d56ee9107
  8. Affected versionversion=5.11

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <2434f4765da8ccd7ef31be88b86f1bfa2e95be11; version=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <6a48ee9a5bda0f8ee501f9bef159fb9f39ff519a; version=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <6b446d335ba16e93a266dd77adf1ba51abc82df4; version=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <8d34019d1413629a434a7e8d9f91c76d256196a0; version=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <999e573212d5f1debf073c68be35e55bbfad12fc; version=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <b4c01ae6dd56d9dfd96bd1b29c28afa8fa06b366; version=030a48b0f6ce393d78b8d33debb1e2043b8cc156 <ff8da20b6f47c48d46e47f93f7a59e2d56ee9107; version=5.11

Published CVSS scores

8.4Linux Kernel CNACVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

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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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-825Expired Pointer Dereference
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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