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CVE-2026-72491

9.8
Critical
EPSS 0.72%Patch availableAug 17, 2026

Linux kernel 9p RDMA race causes use-after-free in kernel.

common questions

Is CVE-2026-72491 being exploited?

Not confirmed. CVE-2026-72491 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 0.72% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How severe is CVE-2026-72491?

CVE-2026-72491 is rated Critical with a CVSS score of 9.8. 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-2026-72491?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-72491. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2026-72491 affect?

CVE-2026-72491 affects Linux kernel (9p/rdma subsystems), Distributions with RDMA enabled (Ubuntu, RHEL, Debian, SUSE), Systems exposing RDMA network interfaces. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

What should I do about CVE-2026-72491?

Install vendor kernel security updates or backports; disable 9p/RDMA if unused; reboot as required.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

executive summary
technical analysis
affected
Linux kernel (9p/rdma subsystems)Distributions with RDMA enabled (Ubuntu, RHEL, Debian, SUSE)Systems exposing RDMA network interfaces
impact

Race on rdma->state can trigger use-after-free of RDMA requests, leading to kernel crash (DoS) or potential privilege escalation/remote code execution via RDMA.

action required

Immediate action required

affected versions
Linux Linux
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 4cee2b8766045059d5e0b8114837b4a8efe827ac
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 5424138848eb7d7d8a7196676e90a2cbf2142454
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 3970a19a80de530b801b6256354d4a529a9a2d6c
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 8aadc136d8e8d8fc95d7982d213cfe2234dfcf2b
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 151f8cf5b23d8a534d884432a82a6d54d5a61989
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 13bf9879b778b2f4b260b45bed18f31806120d1e
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < ebbcbe5c0db215feecc17def06178da443f4eea6
  • affected>= 473c7dd1d7b59ff8f88a5154737e3eac78a96e5b and < 7d54894a1ee265a72d70f7cae1da6cc774cccc71
  • affected3479b3c35e82ed10aa0ca2ee9e78c4eded06ba62
  • affectedc01ddaa54d7411e964ffd250c018d8469c5852f2
  • affected9e69c673fe077b8dc491cd8406c9bdcb1f76dee2
  • affectede48e7e27e4dfd00c81e0381e7cee610cce021452
  • affected>= 4.4.185 and < 4.5
  • affected>= 4.9.185 and < 4.10
  • affected>= 4.14.132 and < 4.15
  • affected>= 4.19.57 and < 4.20
  • affected4.20
vendor says fixed in< 4.20, >= 5.10.261 and <= 5.10.*, >= 5.15.212 and <= 5.15.*, >= 6.1.178 and <= 6.1.*, >= 6.6.145 and <= 6.6.*, >= 6.12.97 and <= 6.12.*, >= 6.18.40 and <= 6.18.*, >= 7.1.5 and <= 7.1.*, >= 7.2 and <= *

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.

how to fix
Remediation steps are tailored for users whose stack is affected. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.
references
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