CVE-2026-53281
Linux kernel IOMMU VT-D: NULL deref; possible use-after-free in teardown.
Is CVE-2026-53281 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-53281 does not appear in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which records only exploitation that has been observed and reported publicly. That is evidence of absence of a report, not evidence the flaw is unattacked. EPSS currently estimates a 0.13% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-53281?
CVE-2026-53281 is rated High with a CVSS score of 8.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.
Is there a patch for CVE-2026-53281?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-53281. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-53281 affect?
CVE-2026-53281 affects Linux kernel (IOMMU VT-D). Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-53281?
Upgrade to patched kernel and reboot
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Local attacker could crash the kernel or cause memory corruption via VT-D teardown when dev_pasid is NULL.
Patch when possible
- affected>= 60f030f7418d3f1d94f2fb207fe3080e1844630b and < 9022cb9ac0c2a72a57fa8ebf92ac74f953ca0153
- affected>= 60f030f7418d3f1d94f2fb207fe3080e1844630b and < cdfe3c9f2c9e28a8651ee463c88ad191ced2f840
- affected>= 60f030f7418d3f1d94f2fb207fe3080e1844630b and < 79ea2feb917b05366b49d85573c9c5331f043b2c
- affected68ec78beb4a3fb0877cbaaf49758c85410c05977
- affecteddf96876be3b064aefc493f760e0639765d13ed0d
- affected>= 6.12.57 and < 6.13
- affected>= 6.13.3 and < 6.14
- affected6.14
As published in the CVE Program record. A version outside these ranges is not a statement that it is unaffected — vendors sometimes understate a range, and distribution-backported builds carry upstream numbers that do not reflect what was patched into them.