Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 Mailbox mbox_chan_received_data use after free

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7.8	$0-$5k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.177/6.6.144/6.12.96/6.18.39/7.1.4. This affects the function mbox_chan_received_data of the component Mailbox. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-72486. Local access is required to approach this attack. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.1.177/6.6.144/6.12.96/6.18.39/7.1.4 and classified as very critical. Affected by this issue is the function mbox_chan_received_data of the component Mailbox. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mailbox: mtk-adsp: fix UAF during device teardown When the SOF audio driver fails to initialize (e.g. firmware boot timeout), its devres unwind frees the snd_sof_dev object that the mailbox client (mtk-adsp-ipc) reaches via chan->cl->rx_callback. The mtk-adsp-mailbox shutdown clears the mailbox command registers but leaves the IRQ line unmasked, so a late interrupt can still queue a threaded handler after mbox_free_channel() had cleared chan->cl, and mbox_chan_received_data() would then trigger UAF: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in sof_ipc3_validate_fw_version sof_ipc3_validate_fw_version sof_ipc3_do_rx_work sof_ipc3_rx_msg mt8196_dsp_handle_request mtk_adsp_ipc_recv mbox_chan_received_data mtk_adsp_mbox_isr irq_thread_fn Freed by task ...: kfree devres_release_all really_probe ... (sof-audio-of-mt8196 probe failure) The crash was observed roughly three seconds after the failed probe. disable_irq() in shutdown and enable_irq() in startup. disable_irq() also waits for any in-flight interrupts, so by the time mbox_free_channel() proceeds to clear chan->cl no rx_callback can run. In addition, request the IRQ with IRQF_NO_AUTOEN so it stays masked between probe and the first client bind — otherwise an early interrupt can crash on chan->cl == NULL in mbox_chan_received_data().

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-72486 since 08/09/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack needs to be approached locally. Additional levels of successful authentication are required for exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 08/15/2026).

Upgrading to version 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 b6337a08a63eef8efcffe3c01d479badda6bbbdb/e519c1d8c5efb5cd8d4c5bb3fe39b1bbb812bdb9/fc6c3deb1d4c0adebf7dee0b8af4082af3f17690/7d881615fb6373f71fc628b3f00186aeca87a3d5/25d6ea6c76e1b1b7c57337b2f8f1b6fc8d5c52bc/b57d1a40bc43258372fa1f4d39305e093947a262 is able to eliminate this problem.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 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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• 6.12.40
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• 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
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• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
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• 6.18.20
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• 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: 8.2
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.8

VulDB Base Score: 8.2
VulDB Temp Score: 7.8
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: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

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 6.1.178/6.6.145/6.12.97/6.18.40/7.1.5/7.2-rc1
Patch: b6337a08a63eef8efcffe3c01d479badda6bbbdb/e519c1d8c5efb5cd8d4c5bb3fe39b1bbb812bdb9/fc6c3deb1d4c0adebf7dee0b8af4082af3f17690/7d881615fb6373f71fc628b3f00186aeca87a3d5/25d6ea6c76e1b1b7c57337b2f8f1b6fc8d5c52bc/b57d1a40bc43258372fa1f4d39305e093947a262

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-2026-72486 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-72486
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-390992

Entryinfo

Created: 08/15/2026 16:50
Changes: 08/15/2026 16:50 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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