Division by zero in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72238

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Main Vulnerability Database Vulnerabilities #VU143361

Division by zero in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72238

Published: August 16, 2026


Vulnerability identifier: #VU143361
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 6.8 [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]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72238
CWE-ID: CWE-369
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability: No public exploit available

Vulnerability details

The vulnerability allows a local user to cause a denial of service.

The vulnerability exists due to division by zero in early_serial_init() when parsing the console=uart8250 boot parameter. A local user can supply an empty, zero, invalid, or overflowing baud rate value to cause a denial of service.

The issue causes the system to hang during early boot.


Affected software

Linux kernel
Ubuntu
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package)
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux (Ubuntu package)
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package)
linux-azure (Ubuntu package)

How to mitigate CVE-2026-72238

Install security update from vendor's repository.

Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
linux-nvidia (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 5.15.0-1112.113, 5.15.0.1112.112
linux-gcp-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38~24.04.4, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1
linux (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-38.38, 7.0.0-38.38.1, 7.0.0-1008.9, 7.0.0-1013.13~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1014.14, 7.0.0-1015.15
linux-oem-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - update to 7.0.0-1015.15
linux-azure-7.0 (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1
linux-azure (Ubuntu package) - addressed in versions 7.0.0-1016.16, 7.0.0-1017.17

External References

Related Security Bulletins