Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc1 gntdev drivers/xen/gntdev.c gntdev_ioctl_map_grant_ref memory leak

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
8.6	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability categorized as very critical has been discovered in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc1. This vulnerability affects the function gntdev_ioctl_map_grant_ref of the file drivers/xen/gntdev.c of the component gntdev. The manipulation results in memory leak. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2026-72138. The attack can be executed remotely. There is not any exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.2-rc1. It has been classified as very critical. Affected is the function gntdev_ioctl_map_grant_ref of the file drivers/xen/gntdev.c of the component gntdev. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

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.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-72138 since 08/09/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026). This vulnerability is assigned to T1499 by the MITRE ATT&CK project.

Upgrading to version 5.10.261, 5.15.212, 6.1.178, 6.6.145, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 52dc40ef0cfee6ae89b7524967e73f0ba37906d7/1dd9cb98fe228e017fff9efb33862ff38c741b65/6df926130aee6cab9b5d2e5b7862e49ccac348dc/311011f8cc206c5af2877b03e3f627ee1b8fe024/18a693733f7ad004e1ab0466693121ca70cd95dd/16d3ccdabb8dee9be2cdcd6d3f9a125572ec0454/6883269a323609f68f6faa903f8f8ff3d191cec8/45ca1afe2fd14c04e37227e79d3f8455831d8408 is able to eliminate this problem.

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 5.10.260
• 5.15.211
• 6.1.177
• 6.6.144
• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
• 6.12.12
• 6.12.13
• 6.12.14
• 6.12.15
• 6.12.16
• 6.12.17
• 6.12.18
• 6.12.19
• 6.12.20
• 6.12.21
• 6.12.22
• 6.12.23
• 6.12.24
• 6.12.25
• 6.12.26
• 6.12.27
• 6.12.28
• 6.12.29
• 6.12.30
• 6.12.31
• 6.12.32
• 6.12.33
• 6.12.34
• 6.12.35
• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
• 6.12.40
• 6.12.41
• 6.12.42
• 6.12.43
• 6.12.44
• 6.12.45
• 6.12.46
• 6.12.47
• 6.12.48
• 6.12.49
• 6.12.50
• 6.12.51
• 6.12.52
• 6.12.53
• 6.12.54
• 6.12.55
• 6.12.56
• 6.12.57
• 6.12.58
• 6.12.59
• 6.12.60
• 6.12.61
• 6.12.62
• 6.12.63
• 6.12.64
• 6.12.65
• 6.12.66
• 6.12.67
• 6.12.68
• 6.12.69
• 6.12.70
• 6.12.71
• 6.12.72
• 6.12.73
• 6.12.74
• 6.12.75
• 6.12.76
• 6.12.77
• 6.12.78
• 6.12.79
• 6.12.80
• 6.12.81
• 6.12.82
• 6.12.83
• 6.12.84
• 6.12.85
• 6.12.86
• 6.12.87
• 6.12.88
• 6.12.89
• 6.12.90
• 6.12.91
• 6.12.92
• 6.12.93
• 6.12.94
• 6.12.95
• 6.12.96
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
• 6.18.23
• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 6.18.38
• 6.18.39
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4
• 7.2-rc1

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 9.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.6

VulDB Base Score: 9.0
VulDB Temp Score: 8.6
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

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

Exploitinginfo

Class: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Not defined
Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

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

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔒

Upgrade: Kernel 5.10.261/5.15.212/6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc2
Patch: 52dc40ef0cfee6ae89b7524967e73f0ba37906d7/1dd9cb98fe228e017fff9efb33862ff38c741b65/6df926130aee6cab9b5d2e5b7862e49ccac348dc/311011f8cc206c5af2877b03e3f627ee1b8fe024/18a693733f7ad004e1ab0466693121ca70cd95dd/16d3ccdabb8dee9be2cdcd6d3f9a125572ec0454/6883269a323609f68f6faa903f8f8ff3d191cec8/45ca1afe2fd14c04e37227e79d3f8455831d8408

Timelineinfo

08/09/2026 CVE reserved
08/15/2026 +6 days Advisory disclosed
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
08/15/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-72138 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72138
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390426

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 11:09
Changes: 08/15/2026 11:09 (60)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion

Want to know what is going to be exploited?

We predict KEV entries!