CVE-2026-72266
fbdev: vesafb: fix memory leak in vesafb_probe()
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: vesafb: fix memory leak in vesafb_probe() Since commit 73ce73c30ba9 ("fbdev: Transfer video= option strings to caller; clarify ownership") the string returned from fb_get_options() is expected to be freed by the caller. But the string is not freed in vesafb_probe(). Fix that by freeing the option string after setup.
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
Solution
- Apply the patch for commit 73ce73c30ba9.
- Ensure option strings are freed after setup.
- Update the Linux kernel.
References to Advisories, Solutions, and Tools
Here, you will find a curated list of external links that provide in-depth
information, practical solutions, and valuable tools related to
CVE-2026-72266.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration
While CVE identifies
specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or
weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2026-72266 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-2026-72266
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-2026-72266 vulnerability anywhere in the article.
The following table lists the changes that have been made to the
CVE-2026-72266 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 Changed Affected [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '124df55c7201d011a3fead2205685b6c47eae093', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '43af398217ca8940bf30643fd1150b4c655b8a88', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '58bc18e03481b62f0ec53fe47f36615d52660a7d', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '7b96ce9f8e47538c3c6eebbb217c94d696975cac', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': 'b15d708995c01bbffe7dcd634a31959f6805bed3', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/video/fbdev/vesafb.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': '6.6.145', '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-rc1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/video/fbdev/vesafb.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] [{'repo': 'https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux.git', 'vendor': 'Linux', 'product': 'Linux', 'versions': [{'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '124df55c7201d011a3fead2205685b6c47eae093', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '43af398217ca8940bf30643fd1150b4c655b8a88', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '58bc18e03481b62f0ec53fe47f36615d52660a7d', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '7b96ce9f8e47538c3c6eebbb217c94d696975cac', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': 'b15d708995c01bbffe7dcd634a31959f6805bed3', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/video/fbdev/vesafb.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': '6.6.145', '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': ['drivers/video/fbdev/vesafb.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': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '124df55c7201d011a3fead2205685b6c47eae093', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '43af398217ca8940bf30643fd1150b4c655b8a88', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '58bc18e03481b62f0ec53fe47f36615d52660a7d', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': '7b96ce9f8e47538c3c6eebbb217c94d696975cac', 'versionType': 'git'}, {'status': 'affected', 'version': '73ce73c30ba9ae4d90fdfad7ebe9104001d5d851', 'lessThan': 'b15d708995c01bbffe7dcd634a31959f6805bed3', 'versionType': 'git'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/video/fbdev/vesafb.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': '6.6.145', '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-rc1', 'versionType': 'original_commit_for_fix', 'lessThanOrEqual': '*'}], 'programFiles': ['drivers/video/fbdev/vesafb.c'], 'defaultStatus': 'affected'}] Added Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: vesafb: fix memory leak in vesafb_probe() Since commit 73ce73c30ba9 ("fbdev: Transfer video= option strings to caller; clarify ownership") the string returned from fb_get_options() is expected to be freed by the caller. But the string is not freed in vesafb_probe(). Fix that by freeing the option string after setup. Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/124df55c7201d011a3fead2205685b6c47eae093 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43af398217ca8940bf30643fd1150b4c655b8a88 Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58bc18e03481b62f0ec53fe47f36615d52660a7d Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b96ce9f8e47538c3c6eebbb217c94d696975cac Added Reference https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b15d708995c01bbffe7dcd634a31959f6805bed3