CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-72012NVD status: Received

Linux: Improper Locking

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-72012 is a high-severity improper locking vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 428cedade9b2cc8e48f00742df0cfd770e77a803, 3c693635bb7b3a9b6645831a84fed2af46cdf249, 38366140dc8ee3568c7f0191d517e117963bd580 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 0.13% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 428cedade9b2cc8e48f00742df0cfd770e77a803 or 3c693635bb7b3a9b6645831a84fed2af46cdf249 or 38366140dc8ee3568c7f0191d517e117963bd580 or fad36954b29592ce463254179c3043697678481f, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinuxa6ed2aee54644cfa2d04ca86308767f5c3a087e8 up to, but not including, 428cedade9b2cc8e48f00742df0cfd770e77a803; a6ed2aee54644cfa2d04ca86308767f5c3a087e8 up to, but not including, 3c693635bb7b3a9b6645831a84fed2af46cdf249; a6ed2aee54644cfa2d04ca86308767f5c3a087e8 up to, but not including, 38366140dc8ee3568c7f0191d517e117963bd580; a6ed2aee54644cfa2d04ca86308767f5c3a087e8 up to, but not including, fad36954b29592ce463254179c3043697678481f; a6ed2aee54644cfa2d04ca86308767f5c3a087e8 up to, but not including, dd0160a0842337f12e7694d68b184050afc6d3a4; a6ed2aee54644cfa2d04ca86308767f5c3a087e8 up to, but not including, fe58f457ad8d0a2bef4e053cfecca4b5cd266b1a; 5.17428cedade9b2cc8e48f00742df0cfd770e77a803, 3c693635bb7b3a9b6645831a84fed2af46cdf249, 38366140dc8ee3568c7f0191d517e117963bd580, fad36954b29592ce463254179c3043697678481f, dd0160a0842337f12e7694d68b184050afc6d3a4, fe58f457ad8d0a2bef4e053cfecca4b5cd266b1a

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
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
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:L/AC:L/PR:L/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: tracing/osnoise: Call synchronize_rcu() when unregistering This ensures that any RCU readers traversing the instance list have finished, before releasing the reference on the tracer that the instance points to.

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

The underlying weakness: Improper Locking

The product does not properly acquire or release a lock on a resource, leading to unexpected resource state changes and behaviors.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Use industry standard APIs to implement locking mechanism.

More Improper Locking vulnerabilities (CWE-667)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
  3. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Improper Locking vulnerabilities

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