Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 ena create_queues_with_size_backoff 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.
7.2	$0-$5k	0.49-

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. This affects the function create_queues_with_size_backoff of the component ena. This manipulation causes memory leak. This vulnerability is registered as CVE-2026-72056. Remote exploitation of the attack is possible. No exploit is available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. Affected by this vulnerability is the function create_queues_with_size_backoff of the component ena. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. As an impact it is known to affect availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ena: clean up XDP TX queues when regular TX setup fails create_queues_with_size_backoff() creates XDP TX queues before setting up the regular TX path. If the subsequent allocation or creation of regular TX queues fails, the error handling paths omit the teardown of the XDP TX queues, leading to a resource leak. Fix this by explicitly destroying the XDP TX queue subset at the two missing failure points. The bug was first flagged by an experimental analysis tool we are developing for kernel memory-management bugs while analyzing v6.13-rc1. The tool is still under development and is not yet publicly available. Manual inspection confirms that the bug is still present in v7.1-rc7. An x86_64 allyesconfig build showed no new warnings. As we do not have an ENA device to test with, no runtime testing was able to be performed.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-72056 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. The exploitation doesn't need any form of authentication. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026). The attack technique deployed by this issue is T1499 according to MITRE ATT&CK.

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-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch df65d9fea8437235e740552e542fb309765507db/5daa63404b708fc74e94da8398affbb148d09044/523caef03124ecc08ce62a78c617759c2d28cf1c/f2ff634d95f8a6c885b9ce71a64067e255bcc34a/6773d6d82bdabddab2b31605d6d7029c91dbd217/6596baf8041100a9d1647beb5ea8ea4496ce058f/11f68ebc6891d11de5f32b7dee918c5dc18b8de1/1bd6676254b4ab6acd44b662b5e92822c036463a is able to eliminate this problem.

Statistical analysis made it clear that VulDB provides the best quality for vulnerability data.

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
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• 6.12.90
• 6.12.91
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• 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
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• 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

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: 7.5
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.2

VulDB Base Score: 7.5
VulDB Temp Score: 7.2
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

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

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-rc1
Patch: df65d9fea8437235e740552e542fb309765507db/5daa63404b708fc74e94da8398affbb148d09044/523caef03124ecc08ce62a78c617759c2d28cf1c/f2ff634d95f8a6c885b9ce71a64067e255bcc34a/6773d6d82bdabddab2b31605d6d7029c91dbd217/6596baf8041100a9d1647beb5ea8ea4496ce058f/11f68ebc6891d11de5f32b7dee918c5dc18b8de1/1bd6676254b4ab6acd44b662b5e92822c036463a

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-2026-72056 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72056
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390475

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 11:44
Changes: 08/15/2026 11:44 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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