Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-52973
Published: June 25, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU135410
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4.0: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:U/U:Clear
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-52973
CWE-ID: CWE-416
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vendor: Linux Foundation
Affected software:
Linux kernel
Linux kernel
Detailed vulnerability description
The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.
The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free in futex hash allocation logic when creating a CLONE_VM clone that shares the memory map outside strict CLONE_THREAD semantics. A local user can create a crafted clone scenario to cause a denial of service.
The issue arises when the memory map is shared in ways other than pthread-style threading, which can leave a biased per-cpu futex reference pointing to freed memory.
How to mitigate CVE-2026-52973
Install security update from vendor's repository.