Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-23162

Vulnerability identifier: #VU122876

CSH Severity: Low

CVSS v4: 8.5 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]

CVE-ID: CVE-2026-23162

CWE-ID: CWE-416

Exploitation vector: Local access

Exploit availability: No public exploit available

The vulnerability allows a local user to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free error within the xe_nvm_init() function in drivers/gpu/drm/xe/xe_nvm.c. A local user can escalate privileges on the system.

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux-azure-fde-6.17 (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-6.17 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oracle-6.17 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-6.17 (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-6.17 (Ubuntu package)

Install update from vendor's repository.

linux-azure-fde-6.17 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.17.0-1018.18~24.04.1
linux-gcp-6.17 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.17.0-1018.20~24.04.1, 6.17.0-1021.24~24.04.1
linux-oracle-6.17 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 6.17.0-1019.19~24.04.3, 6.17.0-1019.19~24.04.3+1
linux-azure-6.17 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.17.0-1021.21~24.04.1
linux-oem-6.17 (Ubuntu package) - update to 6.17.0-1030.30

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32887d8e4bc0696b3cb6c5915a42b39cfd3434f4
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a44241b0b83a6047c5448da1fff03fcc29496b5

• Use-after-free in Linux kernel drm xe driver
• Ubuntu update for linux-gcp-6.17
• Ubuntu update for linux-oem-6.17
• Ubuntu update for linux-azure-fde-6.17
• Ubuntu update for linux-azure-6.17
• Ubuntu update for linux-oracle-6.17