VulnerabilityPublished 15 Aug 2026Updated 9 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-72178: Linux kernel · mm/damon/core: always put unsuccessfully committed target pids

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1017.17~24.04.1, 7.0.0-1016.16~24.04.1 +11

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 15 Aug 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-g93q-9jrc-mrwv

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-38.38	Fixed in 7.0.0-38.38
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1014.14	Fixed in 7.0.0-1014.14
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1017.17	Fixed in 7.0.0-1017.17
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1016.16	Fixed in 7.0.0-1016.16
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1014.14	Fixed in 7.0.0-1014.14
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gke`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected <7.0.0-1008.9	Fixed in 7.0.0-1008.9

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

An official fix is available and should be applied to affected Linux kernel versions. Users should update to patched kernel releases to ensure proper pid management during DAMON commit operations. No additional mitigation steps are required as the issue is resolved by the patch.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's DAMON subsystem (CVE-2026-72178) involves improper handling of target process IDs (pids) during unsuccessful commit operations in damon_commit_target(). This can lead to pid resource leaks when the commit operation fails and the destination context lacks the cleanup callback to release pids. The issue is related to the management of monitoring contexts and is unlikely to be common in real-world scenarios but affects supported functionality. A fix is available that ensures pids are properly released even on commit failures.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause resource leaks of process IDs (pids) in the kernel, potentially leading to resource exhaustion or instability in systems using the DAMON commit feature under specific conditions. However, the affected feature and failure scenario are uncommon in practice, limiting the real-world impact. There is no indication of direct exploitation or privilege escalation from this issue.

Summary

The Linux kernel's DAMON subsystem had a flaw in damon_commit_target() where unsuccessfully committed target pids were not always properly released, causing pid leaks. The commit operation involves transferring monitoring targets between contexts, and failures during this process could leave some pids unreleased if the destination context did not have the cleanup_target() callback. This issue arises particularly when the destination context does not use the [f]vaddr operation set and the commit fails before source context operations are committed. The vulnerability was discovered by Sashiko and fixed by adding pid release operations on commit failure.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 25 Oct 2026, 07:22 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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