Linux kernel vulnerability affecting widespread OS installations; can crash or corrupt kernel memory and may enable privilege escalation—requires org-wide attention.
CVE-2026-74428
Linux kernel rxrpc double-unlock can crash or corrupt kernel memory.
Is CVE-2026-74428 being exploited?
Not confirmed. CVE-2026-74428 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 0.35% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
How severe is CVE-2026-74428?
CVE-2026-74428 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-2026-74428?
Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2026-74428. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.
What does CVE-2026-74428 affect?
CVE-2026-74428 affects Linux kernel (rxrpc module), Systems with rxrpc/OpenAFS enabled, Servers and clients running affected kernels. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.
What should I do about CVE-2026-74428?
Apply vendor kernel updates, reboot affected hosts, and limit rxrpc network exposure.
Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.
Crafted RXRPC OOB messages trigger a double unlock causing kernel crash (DoS) and memory corruption, potentially enabling privilege escalation or remote code execution.
Immediate action required
- affected>= 5800b1cf3fd8ccab752a101865be1e76dac33142 and < 8cd8cf3052fff9a4b86b25734f610e4af03786d3
- affected>= 5800b1cf3fd8ccab752a101865be1e76dac33142 and < 1297ae6aeebc3863cb437e42a1bc4cd6173e43d9
- affected>= 5800b1cf3fd8ccab752a101865be1e76dac33142 and < a2f299b4d5510147fa8629a6aba2869bbcc88aea
- affected6.16
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.