VulnerabilityPublished 15 Aug 2026Updated 27 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-72391: Linux kernel · net: phy: sfp: free mii_bus in sfp_i2c_mdiobus_destroy

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited · fixed in 6.8.0-147.147 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 28 Oct 2026, 00:59 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Patch: Available – fixed in 6.8.0-147.147, 6.8.0-1067.70, 7.0.0-1014.14~24.04.1 +25

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.

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Patches and advisories

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.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: phy: sfp: free mii_bus in sfp_i2c_mdiobus_destroy sfp_i2c_mdiobus_create() allocates the I2C MDIO bus with mdio_i2c_alloc(), a plain (non-devm) allocation, and registers it. sfp_i2c_mdiobus_destroy() only unregisters the bus and clears sfp->i2c_mii without calling mdiobus_free(). As the only reference to the bus is then cleared, the struct mii_bus is leaked. This is hit whenever a copper/RollBall SFP module that instantiated an MDIO bus is removed: sfp_sm_main() takes the global teardown path and calls sfp_i2c_mdiobus_destroy(). sfp_cleanup(), on driver unbind, frees sfp->i2c_mii directly, which is why the leak only triggered on module hot-removal and not on unbind. Free the bus in sfp_i2c_mdiobus_destroy() to match the allocation done in sfp_i2c_mdiobus_create().

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…