Linux Kernel up to 6.18.50/7.2.4/7.3-rc1 nvme nvme_alloc_ns 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.
9.2	$5k-$25k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.50/7.2.4/7.3-rc1. This affects the function nvme_alloc_ns of the component nvme. Executing a manipulation can lead to use after free. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-89972. The attack may be launched remotely. There is no exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.50/7.2.4/7.3-rc1 and classified as very critical. This vulnerability affects the function nvme_alloc_ns of the component nvme. 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. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme: add missing SRCU grace period in error path nvme_alloc_ns() error path at out_unlink_ns removes ns from the namespace head siblings list with list_del_rcu(&ns->siblings) but does not wait for SRCU readers before freeing the namespace struct. Multipath code iterates the head->list under srcu_read_lock() in nvme_find_path() and nvme_mpath_revalidate_paths(), so a concurrent reader can still hold a reference to ns when kfree(ns) runs. The normal removal path in nvme_ns_remove() correctly calls synchronize_srcu(&ns->head->srcu) after list_del_rcu() to wait for in-progress readers. Add the same grace period in the error path.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-89972 since 09/11/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. The attack can be initiated remotely. Additional levels of successful authentication are needed for exploitation. 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 10/04/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.51, 7.2.5 or 7.3-rc2 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch d663944dbad81bb0e3635d7090db4713e6300858/76023560d60f10b4f808941163aa2975f1631683/ef248d5de4469fb6bbaf8dbe0c4c47800080d648 is able to eliminate this problem. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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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
• 6.18.42
• 6.18.43
• 6.18.44
• 6.18.45
• 6.18.46
• 6.18.47
• 6.18.48
• 6.18.49
• 6.18.50
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.3-rc1

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: 9.4
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.2

VulDB Base Score: 9.1
VulDB Temp Score: 8.7
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CNA Base Score: 9.8
CNA Vector (Linux): 🔒

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

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 6.18.51/7.2.5/7.3-rc2
Patch: d663944dbad81bb0e3635d7090db4713e6300858/76023560d60f10b4f808941163aa2975f1631683/ef248d5de4469fb6bbaf8dbe0c4c47800080d648

Timelineinfo

09/11/2026 CVE reserved
09/16/2026 +5 days Advisory disclosed
09/16/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
10/04/2026 +18 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-89972 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-89972
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-405814

Entryinfo

Created: 09/16/2026 15:08
Updated: 10/04/2026 22:08
Changes: 09/16/2026 15:08 (59), 10/04/2026 22:08 (11)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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