VulnerabilityPublished 15 Aug 2026

CVE-2026-72309: Linux kernel · tracing/remotes: Fix leak in trace_remote_alloc_buffer() error path

Source GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

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-8hrf-wfxr-vw68

What to do

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to address this issue by correcting the CPU count increment logic during buffer allocation. Users should apply the official kernel updates or patches that include this fix. Since this is a kernel-level bug, upgrading to a fixed kernel version is the recommended remediation. Patch status is not explicitly confirmed in the provided data; users should consult the Linux kernel vendor advisory or distribution security updates for the exact fixed versions.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's tracing subsystem was fixed to address a memory leak issue in the trace_remote_alloc_buffer() function. The flaw occurs when page allocation fails, causing an incomplete buffer descriptor to remain allocated because a CPU count increment is skipped. This leads to a resource leak that could affect system stability or resource usage.

Impact

This vulnerability causes a memory/resource leak in the Linux kernel tracing subsystem. While it does not directly lead to code execution or privilege escalation, the leak could degrade system performance or stability over time if triggered repeatedly. There is no indication of active exploitation in the wild.

Summary

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel involves the trace_remote_alloc_buffer() function in the tracing/remotes component. When page allocation fails during buffer allocation, the descriptor's CPU count (desc->nr_cpus) is not incremented for the current CPU. As a result, the partially allocated buffer descriptor (rb_desc) is not freed properly in the error handling path (trace_remote_free_buffer()), causing a memory leak. The fix increments desc->nr_cpus immediately after the first successful allocation for the current CPU to ensure proper cleanup on errors.

References

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