CVE-2026-90178

Memory leakage via skipped thermal-driver cleanup

Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026

Memory leakage in coretemp in Linux 6.9 allows local users to leave kernel memory allocated through driver removal. In drivers/hwmon/coretemp.c, coretemp_device_remove() frees platform data without releasing pdata->core_data when missing package thermal support bypasses package-data cleanup. Triggering removal requires privileged local operations on an affected CPU; the documented consequence is unreleased memory, not a demonstrated hang, crash, or reboot.

CVSS severity2.3
Low
EPSS probability0.17%
Next 30 days · Oct 20, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Get started

Summary

What happened

Memory leakage in coretemp in Linux 6.9 allows local users to leave kernel memory allocated through driver removal. In drivers/hwmon/coretemp.c, coretemp_device_remove() frees platform data without releasing pdata->core_data when missing package thermal support bypasses package-data cleanup. Triggering removal requires privileged local operations on an affected CPU; the documented consequence is unreleased memory, not a demonstrated hang, crash, or reboot.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-90178
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Updated
Sep 17, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
Unavailable
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 17, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 17, 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=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <0cd8450c257faa0cece0e0c43d3b55d1a389acc7
  2. Affected versionversion=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <86c1617b7d4b001b20a71deda3c791538a4fa6aa
  3. Affected versionversion=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <9b23a010a1e8232974617c412cb9f578f3378b70
  4. Affected versionversion=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <dc0d79b1be384e7f6a2308356afd10dcf3bf940f
  5. Affected versionversion=6.9

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <0cd8450c257faa0cece0e0c43d3b55d1a389acc7; version=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <86c1617b7d4b001b20a71deda3c791538a4fa6aa; version=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <9b23a010a1e8232974617c412cb9f578f3378b70; version=1a793caf6f6991716cb07583ed7c27de84ef0cba <dc0d79b1be384e7f6a2308356afd10dcf3bf940f; version=6.9

Published CVSS scores

2.3SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
2.3Amazon LinuxCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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.

Activity data is delayed. The latest report is Sep 28, 2026.

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

No observations available

Sep 22, 2026Sep 28, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 28, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

No sourced classifications are available.

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

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Get started to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Get started