CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-53215NVD status: Modified

Linux: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-53215 is a critical-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 9.8 out of 10. It can be exploited remotely over the network by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. The record lists versions a88b3293b556f4d8fba11db9a8061a6b0d3b69e6, a03cdcedb2cbcc42551dc3e4746929e93c5352d5, 580f92f27cb8724bcc4be98ee89890eab524a2ae as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.5% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Patch this week

Critical severity: a successful attack would have severe impact.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to a88b3293b556f4d8fba11db9a8061a6b0d3b69e6 or a03cdcedb2cbcc42551dc3e4746929e93c5352d5 or 580f92f27cb8724bcc4be98ee89890eab524a2ae or d0c8c4fbd22d260fe28530260656c5fb3c20ce84, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.8 or 5.15.210 or 6.1.176 or 6.6.143, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  3. Until you can update, restrict network access to the affected service so it is not reachable from untrusted networks.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, a88b3293b556f4d8fba11db9a8061a6b0d3b69e6; 07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, a03cdcedb2cbcc42551dc3e4746929e93c5352d5; 07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, 580f92f27cb8724bcc4be98ee89890eab524a2ae; 07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, d0c8c4fbd22d260fe28530260656c5fb3c20ce84; 07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, 8a2126c5afe89f8ceeb60a3afb9f075b736194cd; 07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, 02e1b5c4d3b4c658b72c145427cded1bba613fc1; 07dd0a7aae7f72af7cec18909581c2bb570edddc up to, but not including, 5e8e2a9624df72fca7c736b2966b2cbf6c9c3ff6; 95a936364f2685e9e040c6b179b553604d96de22; and 4 more rangesa88b3293b556f4d8fba11db9a8061a6b0d3b69e6, a03cdcedb2cbcc42551dc3e4746929e93c5352d5, 580f92f27cb8724bcc4be98ee89890eab524a2ae, d0c8c4fbd22d260fe28530260656c5fb3c20ce84, 8a2126c5afe89f8ceeb60a3afb9f075b736194cd, 02e1b5c4d3b4c658b72c145427cded1bba613fc1
LinuxLinux Kernel5.7.15 up to, but not including, 5.8; 5.8.2 up to, but not including, 5.15.210; 5.16 up to, but not including, 6.1.176; 6.2 up to, but not including, 6.6.143; 6.7 up to, but not including, 6.12.94; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.36; 6.19 up to, but not including, 7.0.13; 7.15.8, 5.15.210, 6.1.176, 6.6.143, 6.12.94, 6.18.36

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
NoneNo account or login is needed.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: mvpp2: refill RX buffers before XDP or skb use The RX error path returns the current descriptor buffer to the hardware BM pool. That is only valid while the driver still owns the buffer. mvpp2_rx_refill() can fail after the current buffer has been handed to XDP or attached to an skb. In those cases mvpp2_run_xdp() may have recycled, redirected, or queued the page for XDP_TX, and an skb free also retires the data buffer. Returning such a buffer to BM lets hardware DMA into memory that is no longer owned by the RX ring. Refill the BM pool before handing the current buffer to XDP or to the skb. If the allocation fails there, drop the packet and return the still-owned current buffer to BM, preserving the pool depth. Once the refill succeeds, later local drops retire/free the current buffer instead of returning it to BM.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

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.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • 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.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: yes, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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