Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.4/7.2-rc3 vub300 mmc_add_host use after free

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.
9.5	$5k-$25k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.4/7.2-rc3. This impacts the function mmc_add_host of the component vub300. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-72073. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.4/7.2-rc3 and classified as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function mmc_add_host of the component vub300. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mmc: vub300: fix use-after-free on probe failure The vub300 driver lifetime-manages its controller state using vub300->kref, with vub300_delete() freeing the mmc host when the last reference is dropped. The probe error path after the inactivity timer has been armed still bypasses that lifetime rule, however, and falls through to mmc_free_host() directly if mmc_add_host() fails. The race window is between arming the inactivity timer and reaching the probe error unwind after mmc_add_host() fails: probe thread timer/workqueue ------------ --------------- kref_init(&vub300->kref) ref = 1 kref_get(&vub300->kref) ref = 2, timer ref add_timer(inactivity_timer) fires after one second | | race window |<----------------------------------------------------> | mmc_add_host(mmc) inactivity timer fires vub300_queue_dead_work() kref_get() ref = 3 queue_work(deadwork) mmc_add_host() fails timer_delete_sync() mmc_free_host(mmc) frees vub300 deadwork runs use-after-free The inactivity timeout is one second, so this would require mmc_add_host() to both fail and take more than one second to do so. This is unlikely to happen in practice, but the error path is still wrong. timer_delete_sync() only waits for the timer callback itself. It does not flush deadwork that the callback may already have queued. As a result, queued deadwork can still hold a kref while the probe error path directly frees the backing mmc host, including the vub300 storage. Fix this by using the same lifetime mechanism as disconnect. Clear vub300->interface so that the timer callback and any queued deadwork return early and drop their references, then drop the initial probe reference and return without falling through to err_free_host.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-72073 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be launched remotely. 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 6.18.42, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc4 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 5b82af744e06cd741938c3da54fdbe564a7e52d9/618cf6b139503ec18ef93ffd663396aaf99b763a/a3b5f242997a3be7404112fd48784881560aea57 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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
• 6.18.40
• 6.18.41
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4
• 7.2-rc1
• 7.2-rc2
• 7.2-rc3

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: 9.9
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 9.9
VulDB Temp Score: 9.5
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: Use after free
CWE: CWE-416 / 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 6.18.42/7.1.5/7.2-rc4
Patch: 5b82af744e06cd741938c3da54fdbe564a7e52d9/618cf6b139503ec18ef93ffd663396aaf99b763a/a3b5f242997a3be7404112fd48784881560aea57

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-2026-72073 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72073
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390487

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 11:50
Changes: 08/15/2026 11:50 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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