Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 CPU Hotplug states_show buffer overflow

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.
8.0	$5k-$25k	0.48

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as very critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. Impacted is the function states_show of the component CPU Hotplug. Performing a manipulation results in buffer overflow. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-72066. The attack may be initiated remotely. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. This affects the function states_show of the component CPU Hotplug. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-120. The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buffer overflow. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cpu: hotplug: Bound hotplug states sysfs output states_show() adds CPU hotplug state names into a single sysfs buffer using sprintf(). With enough registered states, this can write past the end of the PAGE_SIZE buffer. Use sysfs_emit_at() so output is bounded.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-72066 since 08/09/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are necessary for exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 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 2408be459c70ef4250da1a9e50f5478e6b250d61/de4d3d8ae17dc8b4cf8c59436c4b7e2dc2491635/998f66e9ce320f3433f60b948e3698b744754a46/61a73a123ac7a7fbc57382531f8cb7092d569aba/6cb15b81ff545840048fb0e1a6e827d560dbf367/631d53102da9f469c96b882b770336bec095b833/86f436567f2516a0083b210bedc933544826a2c3 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
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• 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
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• 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

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: 8.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.0

VulDB Base Score: 8.4
VulDB Temp Score: 8.0
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: Buffer overflow
CWE: CWE-120 / CWE-119
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 5.15.212/6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc1
Patch: 2408be459c70ef4250da1a9e50f5478e6b250d61/de4d3d8ae17dc8b4cf8c59436c4b7e2dc2491635/998f66e9ce320f3433f60b948e3698b744754a46/61a73a123ac7a7fbc57382531f8cb7092d569aba/6cb15b81ff545840048fb0e1a6e827d560dbf367/631d53102da9f469c96b882b770336bec095b833/86f436567f2516a0083b210bedc933544826a2c3

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-2026-72066 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72066
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390483

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 11:48
Changes: 08/15/2026 11:48 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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