CVE-2025-71238VulnerabilityPublished 30 Mar 2026Updated 16 Sep 2026

Linux kernel · security update for kernel

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

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Mentioned vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-23231

Authoritative record:CVE-2025-71238· High

Not known to be exploited : upgrade the Red Hat redhat/kernel package to 10.2 soon.

Data as of 29 Oct 2026, 19:04 UTC

Severity

High

Rated by Threat Radar · No CVSS score from NVD or the CNA

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 10.2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 4 Mar 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: 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 29 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.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), 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 the Red Hat redhat/kernel package to 10.2.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Red Hatredhat/kernel`pkg:rpm/redhat/kernel`Other threats	Affected >=10 <10.2 >=10.2	Fixed in 10.2

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

AI-suggested

Red Hat has released updated kernel packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 that address these vulnerabilities. Users should apply the security update as detailed in the Red Hat advisory RHSA-2026:6053 and reboot affected systems to ensure the fixes take effect. Patch status is confirmed by the vendor advisory, and no additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

The kernel packages contain the Linux kernel, the core of any Linux operating system. Security Fix(es): * kernel: kernel: Privilege escalation or denial of service via use-after-free in nf_tables_addchain() (CVE-2026-23231) * kernel: Linux kernel (qla2xxx): Double free vulnerability leads to denial of service and potential privilege escalation. (CVE-2025-71238) For more details about the security issue(s), including the impact, a CVSS score, acknowledgments, and other related information, refer to the CVE page(s) listed in the References section.

Impact

Successful exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to escalate privileges or cause denial of service on affected Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 systems. Both vulnerabilities affect kernel components critical to system security and stability. The use-after-free and double free bugs can lead to memory corruption, which attackers might leverage to gain elevated privileges or disrupt system operations.

Summary

Red Hat Product Security issued an advisory for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 kernel packages to fix two vulnerabilities: CVE-2026-23231, a use-after-free in nf_tables_addchain() that can result in privilege escalation or denial of service, and CVE-2025-71238, a double free in the qla2xxx Linux kernel driver causing denial of service and possible privilege escalation. The advisory rates the security impact as Moderate and provides updated kernel packages that address these flaws. The update requires a system reboot to take effect. No CVSS scores are provided in the advisory, but the issues are confirmed and fixed in the updated kernel versions.

CWE-672Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release (opens in a new tab)
Class weakness
The product uses, accesses, or otherwise operates on a resource after that resource has been expired, released, or revoked.
CWE-416Use After Free (opens in a new tab)
Variant weaknessLikelihood of exploit: HighCWE Top 25 (2025): #7
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.
Architecture and Design · Language Selection
Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
XML Security (opens in a new tab)
Mass Assignment (opens in a new tab)
OWASP ASVS 4.0.3
V13.3.1 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.4 (opens in a new tab)
V5.1.3 (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 12 Jul 2026, 10:06 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-672, CWE-416

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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