CVE-2026-90296

Memory exhaustion via persistent driver-rebind allocations

Published Sep 17, 2026 · Updated Sep 17, 2026

Memory leakage in Linux Kernel's imx6q cpufreq driver allows local users to consume kernel memory through repeated driver rebinding. The driver allocates imx6_soc_volt against the persistent CPU device, and imx6q_cpufreq_remove() never releases it, retaining another allocation after each probe. Exploitation requires access sufficient to rebind the driver on a system using it; accumulated memory consumption leads to instability or unresponsiveness rather than data disclosure or privilege escalation.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Oct 19, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leakage in Linux Kernel's imx6q cpufreq driver allows local users to consume kernel memory through repeated driver rebinding. The driver allocates imx6_soc_volt against the persistent CPU device, and imx6q_cpufreq_remove() never releases it, retaining another allocation after each probe. Exploitation requires access sufficient to rebind the driver on a system using it; accumulated memory consumption leads to instability or unresponsiveness rather than data disclosure or privilege escalation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-90296
Published
Sep 17, 2026
Updated
Sep 17, 2026
Vendor
Linux Foundation
Product
Linux Kernel
Classifications
CWE-772, T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

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

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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=3.14
  2. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <0f77d1a0a25056146eea1f8619fa06ce287c91f7
  3. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <22c23c72c3b21fa3ec3db5070dfc0582794e0ef9
  4. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <38d2c3c9238b9d499e1829a3b8e80c2f73c73b5c
  5. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <493c4d5982f037f288509a1cee352b8b9705fb38
  6. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <92e53a5274276a7b1ca815b9aacebea4fb7efe75
  7. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <9e314b3ecd2594958d4f4999313641290ad28ebe
  8. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <d91f07381e2b70578ff92b83d9422ac31e7b9096
  9. Affected versionversion=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <e2d2612e63e294ebcdec7c6f08a1a052b7dfdc59

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Linux Foundation · Linux Kernelversion=3.14; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <0f77d1a0a25056146eea1f8619fa06ce287c91f7; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <22c23c72c3b21fa3ec3db5070dfc0582794e0ef9; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <38d2c3c9238b9d499e1829a3b8e80c2f73c73b5c; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <493c4d5982f037f288509a1cee352b8b9705fb38; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <92e53a5274276a7b1ca815b9aacebea4fb7efe75; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <9e314b3ecd2594958d4f4999313641290ad28ebe; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <d91f07381e2b70578ff92b83d9422ac31e7b9096; version=b4573d1d657aae28bedf3a9a1f5367e09c80d1d6 <e2d2612e63e294ebcdec7c6f08a1a052b7dfdc59

Published CVSS scores

5.5Red HatCVSS: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
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-772Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime
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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