Linux Kernel up to 5.10.265/5.15.216/6.12.110/6.18.52 thunderbolt tb_service_release 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.
8.4	$0-$5k	0.00+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as very critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.265/5.15.216/6.12.110/6.18.52. This issue affects the function tb_service_release of the component thunderbolt. Performing a manipulation results in use after free. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-97509. The attack requires a local approach. No exploit exists. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 5.10.265/5.15.216/6.12.110/6.18.52. It has been classified as very critical. This affects the function tb_service_release of the component thunderbolt. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. 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: thunderbolt: Keep XDomain reference during the lifetime of a service This is needed because we release the service ID in tb_service_release() and the ID array is owned by the parent XDomain.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-97509 since 09/24/2026. The exploitability is told to be easy. An attack has to be approached locally. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 09/24/2026).

Upgrading to version 5.10.266, 5.15.217, 6.12.111 or 6.18.53 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch a4567e5380e4e46d0ea9a28d2d675e5c6f013d54/daeaa6c7211d03ed061b0dd22a875fad9372b090/8ab12d015884b8aa85ea7ed58c5a0bae4264fe60/ea60ae6233ca0fc0d414e9c11f0d86c63b303fc7/8b4060998637f06975fceee9b73845d8672d411e 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

• 5.10.265
• 5.15.216
• 6.12.110
• 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
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
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CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 8.4

VulDB Base Score: 8.8
VulDB Temp Score: 8.4
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 5.10.266/5.15.217/6.12.111/6.18.53
Patch: a4567e5380e4e46d0ea9a28d2d675e5c6f013d54/daeaa6c7211d03ed061b0dd22a875fad9372b090/8ab12d015884b8aa85ea7ed58c5a0bae4264fe60/ea60ae6233ca0fc0d414e9c11f0d86c63b303fc7/8b4060998637f06975fceee9b73845d8672d411e

Timelineinfo

09/24/2026 Advisory disclosed
09/24/2026 +0 days CVE reserved
09/24/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/24/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97509 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97509
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-409677

Entryinfo

Created: 09/24/2026 20:07
Changes: 09/24/2026 20:07 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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