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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-72316: Linux kernel · dm era: fix NULL pointer dereference in metadata_open()

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 5.15.0-1117.124~20.04.1 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 12:55 UTC

Severity
Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS
0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 12% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch
Available – fixed in 5.15.0-1117.124~20.04.1, 5.15.0-1123.132~20.04.1, 5.15.0-1122.131~20.04.1 +41

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 15 Aug 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • <7.0.0-38.38
Fixed in
  • 7.0.0-38.38
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • <7.0.0-1014.14
Fixed in
  • 7.0.0-1014.14
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • <7.0.0-1017.17
Fixed in
  • 7.0.0-1017.17
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • <7.0.0-1016.16
Fixed in
  • 7.0.0-1016.16
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • <7.0.0-1014.14
Fixed in
  • 7.0.0-1014.14
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • <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 patch is available and should be applied to affected linux-aws kernel versions. The fix changes the error handling in metadata_open() to return an error pointer instead of NULL, preventing the NULL pointer dereference. Users should update to patched kernel versions as per the vendor advisory.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's device mapper (dm) era subsystem caused a NULL pointer dereference due to improper handling of memory allocation failure in the metadata_open() function. The function metadata_open() returns NULL on allocation failure, but the caller era_ctr() only checks for error pointers, not NULL, leading to a NULL pointer dereference when accessing metadata. This issue has been fixed by changing the return to an error pointer consistent with similar code patterns. The vulnerability affects specific linux-aws kernel versions and has been patched.

References

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