CVE-2026-53156
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's nvmem core. This vulnerability, a use-after-free, occurs in error handling paths where memory associated with an nvmem device is prematurely released while the system continues to access the freed memory. This can lead to memory corruption, potentially allowing an attacker to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary code.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because exploitation requires local access and relies on triggering uncommon hardware or driver initialization error conditions to cause a denial of service. The flaw resides within the core non-volatile memory (NVMEM) subsystem of the Linux kernel, where reference management errors during failure states can result in a crash rather than arbitrary privilege escalation under typical operating environments. Because standard enterprise deployments do not expose these specialized error flows to unauthenticated or remote users, the overall security risk remains constrained.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
The following CVSS metrics and score provided are preliminary and subject to review.
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 5.5 | 7.8 | N/A |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | N/A |
| Attack Complexity | Low | Low | N/A |
| Privileges Required | Low | Low | N/A |
| User Interaction | None | None | N/A |
| Scope | Unchanged | Unchanged | N/A |
| Confidentiality | None | High | N/A |
| Integrity Impact | None | High | N/A |
| Availability Impact | High | High | N/A |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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