Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-72069
Published: August 16, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU143526
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 7.3 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-72069
CWE-ID: CWE-416
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to execute arbitrary code.
The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free in rt_spin_unlock(), rt_read_unlock(), and rt_write_unlock() when releasing RCU protection before completing unlock operations. A local user can trigger concurrent lock and RCU operations to execute arbitrary code.
The issue affects the RT spinlock and rwlock substitutions where unlock handling does not preserve the expected non-RT RCU protection semantics.
Affected software
Linux kernel
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, little endian
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM 64
kernel (Red Hat package)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for x86_64
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for IBM z Systems
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Power, little endian
Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM 64
kernel (Red Hat package)
How to mitigate CVE-2026-72069
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3
kernel (Red Hat package) - update to 6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2
kernel (Red Hat package) - update to 6.12.0-211.50.1.el10_2
External References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f0d56d3f1e88f20f6e46109402f8c15d59bac37
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3cfaac77b3c32ac3940df28866de263c3f45d24c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/633cadbc0b8323f5cc140a285d2432089dbb534e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/83f9fb561c1c3917e19f95523dd933c7d30291aa
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/89038cc87d80c77e7aa6f42a64b2573b74af339f