CVE-2026-90188Hinoki check available

Memory leakage via incomplete initialization-error cleanup

Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026

Memory leakage in Linux null_blk allows local users to consume kernel memory through failed initialization with shared_tags enabled. In drivers/block/null_blk/main.c, err_dev omits freeing the global tag_set allocated by null_setup_tagset(), and failed initialization prevents null_exit() from releasing its tags and maps. Triggering requires privileged local access, enabled shared_tags, and subsequent device-creation failure; the documented consequence is permanent kernel-memory leakage, not a demonstrated crash.

CVSS severity2.3
Low
EPSS probability0.21%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkAvailable
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 Linux null_blk allows local users to consume kernel memory through failed initialization with shared_tags enabled. In drivers/block/null_blk/main.c, err_dev omits freeing the global tag_set allocated by null_setup_tagset(), and failed initialization prevents null_exit() from releasing its tags and maps. Triggering requires privileged local access, enabled shared_tags, and subsequent device-creation failure; the documented consequence is permanent kernel-memory leakage, not a demonstrated crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-90188
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=4.13
  2. Affected versionversion=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <081cf37e8a0e00cd91d6df53172c9d928790a798
  3. Affected versionversion=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <0b2faa330184340d9418ad2c627c2ae881772e33
  4. Affected versionversion=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <2882e1450fa4597811a951196e07553ea134eb31
  5. Affected versionversion=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <2b59484ac1e64dd78dbe8c6140891c6308085a75
  6. Affected versionversion=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <5a1c5ff3a49ba93a1fd0b70537e7a0164071760d
  7. Affected versionversion=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <665c94554ff0d5d88caae7f40c16c8e0a3369eda

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=4.13; version=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <081cf37e8a0e00cd91d6df53172c9d928790a798; version=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <0b2faa330184340d9418ad2c627c2ae881772e33; version=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <2882e1450fa4597811a951196e07553ea134eb31; version=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <2b59484ac1e64dd78dbe8c6140891c6308085a75; version=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <5a1c5ff3a49ba93a1fd0b70537e7a0164071760d; version=82f402fefa50f1675bf918bcd009981bd6b30ac8 <665c94554ff0d5d88caae7f40c16c8e0a3369eda

Published CVSS scores

2.3SUSECVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
6.8TenableAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:C/A:C
5.1Tenable NessusCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H/E:U/RL:U/RC:C
5.5Tenable NessusCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
5.5TenableCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
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