CVE-2026-72110
Description
A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's BPF/fork component. A local user, by initiating a fork() operation from a process within a task storage map, can trigger a condition where the bpf_storage is not properly initialized. This can lead to a Use-After-Free (UAF) vulnerability, which occurs when the system attempts to use memory after it has been freed. Exploitation of this flaw could result in kernel hangs or other system instability, effectively causing a denial of service.
Statement
This vulnerability is rated as Moderate severity because exploitation is restricted to local access and relies on specific preconditions, limiting the primary impact to a denial of service. In standard Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments, unprivileged users cannot directly allocate BPF task storage maps, meaning exposure typically depends on administrative BPF utilities or tracing agents enrolling processes prior to an induced fork failure. When triggered, the flaw leads to system instability or kernel termination rather than arbitrary code execution or privilege escalation.
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 | N/A | 7.8 |
| Attack Vector | Local | N/A | Local |
| Attack Complexity | Low | N/A | Low |
| Privileges Required | Low | N/A | Low |
| User Interaction | None | N/A | None |
| Scope | Unchanged | N/A | Unchanged |
| Confidentiality | None | N/A | High |
| Integrity Impact | None | N/A | High |
| Availability Impact | High | N/A | High |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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