CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-72138

Low risk· EPSS 12%
Published: Updated: Translated: NVD NIST

Exploitation Probability (EPSS)

Low risk
0.21%

12th percentile - higher than 12% of all known CVEs

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the xen/gntdev driver has an error handling issue in the ioctl function. When copying the result to userspace fails, the reference to the mapping is not released, causing a memory leak and a dangling list entry. Additionally, the mapping index may be modified, so it must be retrieved after gntdev_add_map() completes.

Risk Assessment

The vulnerability can lead to memory leaks and incorrect internal state, potentially being exploited to destabilize the system or exhaust resources.

Recommendation

Apply the patch from the Linux kernel update that fixes error handling in xen/gntdev, including proper reference release and index retrieval after adding the mapping.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

See all
Original NVD description (English source)

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xen/gntdev: fix error handling in ioctl When gntdev_ioctl_map_grant_ref() fails to copy the operation result back to userspace after successfully adding the mapping to the list, the error path returns -EFAULT without releasing the reference acquired by gntdev_alloc_map(). The mapping remains in priv->maps with a refcount of 1, causing a memory leak and a dangling list entry. Additionally, gntdev_add_map() may modify map->index to avoid overlap with existing mappings. Therefore, the index returned to userspace must be obtained after gntdev_add_map() completes. Fix this by holding the mutex across gntdev_add_map(), retrieving the correct index, and copy_to_user(). If copy_to_user() fails, remove the mapping from the list and release the reference while still holding the lock. Fix these issues by properly handling all error cases.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS