CVE-2026-72071
tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup()
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() user_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under rcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take event_mutex: rcu_read_lock(); list_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link) enabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event); user_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with list_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the enabler's user_event reference with user_event_put() and frees the enabler with kfree(). A reader that loaded the enabler before the list_del_rcu() can still be walking it, which leads to two use-after-frees: - kfree(enabler) frees the enabler while that reader dereferences enabler->event. - user_event_put() may drop the last reference to the user_event, which is then freed (via delayed_destroy_user_event() on a work queue), while the same reader does user_event_get(orig->event) on it. Both are reachable by an unprivileged task that can open user_events_data: one multithreaded process that registers an enabler and then concurrently unregisters it and calls fork() triggers the race. KASAN reports a slab-use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() during clone(), with a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning when the user_event is freed. The enabler use-after-free was found first; the user_event one was reported by XIAO WU, and the earlier enabler-only fix did not address it. Defer both the user_event_put() and the kfree(enabler) to a work item queued with queue_rcu_work(), so they run only after an RCU grace period, once all readers walking the enabler list have finished. The put must run in process context because user_event_put() takes event_mutex on the last reference, so a work queue is used rather than call_rcu(). The now-unlocked put lets the locked argument of user_event_enabler_destroy() be removed; all callers are updated.
INFO
Published Date :
Aug. 15, 2026, 6:21 a.m.
Last Modified :
Aug. 17, 2026, 6:18 a.m.
Remotely Exploit :
No
Source :
416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
CVSS Scores
| Score | Version | Severity | Vector | Exploitability Score | Impact Score | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 |
Solution
- Defer enabler destruction to a work item.
- Queue work item with queue_rcu_work().
- Update all callers for unlocked put.
- Ensure RCU grace period before destruction.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
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CVE-2026-72071.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72071 is
associated with the following CWEs:
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)
Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification
(CAPEC)
stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and
approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2026-72071
weaknesses.
We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).
Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.
The following list is the news that have been mention
CVE-2026-72071 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-72071 vulnerability over time.
Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.
-
CVE Modified by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 17, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added CVSS V3.1 AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Changed Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': 'b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.4'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.4', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.148', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.97', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc3', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': 'b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.4'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.4', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.148', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.97', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] -
New CVE Received by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Aug. 15, 2026
Action Type Old Value New Value Added Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': 'b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '7235759084a4f8524a46bd2638885ff3b34ce279', 'lessThan': '50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'unaffected'}, {'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '6.4'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '0', 'lessThan': '6.4', 'versionType': 'semver'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.6.148', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.6.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.12.97', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.12.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '6.18.40', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '6.18.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.1.5', 'versionType': 'semver', 'lessThanOrEqual': '7.1.*'}, {'status': 'unaffected', 'version': '7.2-rc3', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['kernel/trace/trace_events_user.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() user_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under rcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take event_mutex: rcu_read_lock(); list_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link) enabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event); user_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with list_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the enabler's user_event reference with user_event_put() and frees the enabler with kfree(). A reader that loaded the enabler before the list_del_rcu() can still be walking it, which leads to two use-after-frees: - kfree(enabler) frees the enabler while that reader dereferences enabler->event. - user_event_put() may drop the last reference to the user_event, which is then freed (via delayed_destroy_user_event() on a work queue), while the same reader does user_event_get(orig->event) on it. Both are reachable by an unprivileged task that can open user_events_data: one multithreaded process that registers an enabler and then concurrently unregisters it and calls fork() triggers the race. KASAN reports a slab-use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() during clone(), with a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning when the user_event is freed. The enabler use-after-free was found first; the user_event one was reported by XIAO WU, and the earlier enabler-only fix did not address it. Defer both the user_event_put() and the kfree(enabler) to a work item queued with queue_rcu_work(), so they run only after an RCU grace period, once all readers walking the enabler list have finished. The put must run in process context because user_event_put() takes event_mutex on the last reference, so a work queue is used rather than call_rcu(). The now-unlocked put lets the locked argument of user_event_enabler_destroy() be removed; all callers are updated. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/05b24f68f78ff3a1ef7f015f7327b35886b741f6 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25acb6711da6fa0382744fa92bd6d42a22c1ae68 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/50fd6dd755c6e48a38af2fa4621167eea56829c2 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/95400e7039cdfeb0b53652d521d766f1698cae95 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b33ac2d39953efb12f598c0dae242c5f644ea669