Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.4 kho scratch_size_update 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.
9.5	$5k-$25k	0.48

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as very critical has been identified in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.4. Affected is the function scratch_size_update of the component kho. Executing a manipulation can lead to buffer overflow. This vulnerability appears as CVE-2026-72169. The attack may be performed from remote. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.41/7.1.4. It has been declared as very critical. This vulnerability affects the function scratch_size_update of the component kho. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a buffer overflow vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is 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. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: kho: make sure scratch size is always aligned by CMA_MIN_ALIGNMENT_BYTES When using scratch_scale, the scratch sizes are rounded up to CMA_MIN_ALIGNMENT_BYTES since they will be released as MIGRATE_CMA. This is not done when using fixed scratch sizes via command line. This can result in user specifying a size which is not aligned, and thus kernel releasing a pageblock that is only partially scratch. Do the rounding up for both cases in scratch_size_update().

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-72169 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.42, 7.1.5 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch b8271be34bce151597da5b5179e0648c281322a4/9fefab759f59bf891bef7be15aee4bc7caec7ec3/0e39380a7316122e1b00012b3f3cd3e318b3e7d3 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

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
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CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
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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: 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 6.18.42/7.1.5/7.2-rc1
Patch: b8271be34bce151597da5b5179e0648c281322a4/9fefab759f59bf891bef7be15aee4bc7caec7ec3/0e39380a7316122e1b00012b3f3cd3e318b3e7d3

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-2026-72169 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72169
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390598

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 13:11
Changes: 08/15/2026 13:11 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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