Kernel memory disclosure via vfb colormap race
Published Sep 25, 2026 · Updated Sep 25, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux vfb allows local users to read freed kernel memory by racing FBIOGETCMAP with driver unbinding. vfb_remove() frees info->cmap after unregister_framebuffer() while an open fb_info reference can still copy that shallow colormap snapshot to userspace. Exploitation requires local framebuffer access and a concurrent driver unbind; the demonstrated operation reads 512 bytes from freed kernel-heap storage.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux vfb allows local users to read freed kernel memory by racing FBIOGETCMAP with driver unbinding. vfb_remove() frees info->cmap after unregister_framebuffer() while an open fb_info reference can still copy that shallow colormap snapshot to userspace. Exploitation requires local framebuffer access and a concurrent driver unbind; the demonstrated operation reads 512 bytes from freed kernel-heap storage.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-97604
- Published
- Sep 25, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 25, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 25, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 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.
- Affected versionversion=2.6.30
- Affected versionversion=5e266e2e0e19532c1b8e2e2bff1eb6ccf42e478a <3c91e51a53cf805e551e5dc8149cd0539a6dbb9d
- Affected versionversion=5e266e2e0e19532c1b8e2e2bff1eb6ccf42e478a <5ff1effb047e465cde193d7df95988aa1520035e
- Affected versionversion=5e266e2e0e19532c1b8e2e2bff1eb6ccf42e478a <86356f13598f59f5acb1754895747dcdaf65a254
- Affected versionversion=5e266e2e0e19532c1b8e2e2bff1eb6ccf42e478a <a0a34a40ed299c9c7cff6af163a5b883ee9d6d73
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
No CVSS assessment is available in this record.
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
No sourced classifications are available.
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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