Linux Kernel up to 6.6.121/6.12.67/6.18.7/6.19-rc6 kmalloc allocation of resources

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CTI Interest Score
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5.4$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.121/6.12.67/6.18.7/6.19-rc6. It has been rated as critical. The impacted element is the function kmalloc. The manipulation leads to allocation of resources. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-23085. There is not any exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is advised.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.6.121/6.12.67/6.18.7/6.19-rc6. This issue affects the function kmalloc. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a allocation of resources vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-770. The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated, in violation of the intended security policy for that actor. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: irqchip/gic-v3-its: Avoid truncating memory addresses On 32-bit machines with CONFIG_ARM_LPAE, it is possible for lowmem allocations to be backed by addresses physical memory above the 32-bit address limit, as found while experimenting with larger VMSPLIT configurations. This caused the qemu virt model to crash in the GICv3 driver, which allocates the 'itt' object using GFP_KERNEL. Since all memory below the 4GB physical address limit is in ZONE_DMA in this configuration, kmalloc() defaults to higher addresses for ZONE_NORMAL, and the ITS driver stores the physical address in a 32-bit 'unsigned long' variable. Change the itt_addr variable to the correct phys_addr_t type instead, along with all other variables in this driver that hold a physical address. The gicv5 driver correctly uses u64 variables, while all other irqchip drivers don't call virt_to_phys or similar interfaces. It's expected that other device drivers have similar issues, but fixing this one is sufficient for booting a virtio based guest.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-23085 since 01/13/2026. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit.

The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 297938 (Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-23085), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment.

Upgrading to version 6.6.122, 6.12.68, 6.18.8 or 6.19-rc7 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 1b323391560354d8c515de8658b057a1daa82adb/084ba3b99f2dfd991ce7e84fb17117319ec3cd9f/03faa61eb4b9ca9aa09bd91d4c3773d8e7b1ac98/8d76a7d89c12d08382b66e2f21f20d0627d14859 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Tenable (297938) and CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0324). Be aware that VulDB is the high quality source for vulnerability data.

Affected

  • Debian Linux
  • Google Cloud Platform
  • Amazon Linux 2
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux
  • Ubuntu Linux
  • SUSE Linux
  • Oracle Linux
  • IBM QRadar SIEM
  • SUSE openSUSE
  • RESF Rocky Linux
  • Open Source Linux Kernel

Productinfo

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Version

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Website

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 5.4

VulDB Base Score: 5.5
VulDB Temp Score: 5.3
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 5.5
NVD Vector: 🔒

CVSSv2info

AVACAuCIA
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VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Allocation of resources
CWE: CWE-770 / CWE-400 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Partially

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

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Nessus ID: 297938
Nessus Name: Linux Distros Unpatched Vulnerability : CVE-2026-23085

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 6.6.122/6.12.68/6.18.8/6.19-rc7
Patch: 1b323391560354d8c515de8658b057a1daa82adb/084ba3b99f2dfd991ce7e84fb17117319ec3cd9f/03faa61eb4b9ca9aa09bd91d4c3773d8e7b1ac98/8d76a7d89c12d08382b66e2f21f20d0627d14859

Timelineinfo

01/13/2026 CVE reserved
02/04/2026 +22 days Advisory disclosed
02/04/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
05/03/2026 +88 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-23085 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-23085
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-344351
CERT Bund: WID-SEC-2026-0324 - Linux Kernel: Mehrere Schwachstellen

Entryinfo

Created: 02/04/2026 18:30
Updated: 05/03/2026 12:32
Changes: 02/04/2026 18:30 (58), 02/05/2026 09:24 (2), 02/06/2026 10:16 (7), 03/17/2026 22:30 (11), 05/03/2026 12:32 (1)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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