Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6 qla2xxx qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp 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	0.15+

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as very critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6. Affected by this issue is the function qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp of the component qla2xxx. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is documented as CVE-2026-97528. The attack can be executed remotely. There is not any exploit available. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.52/7.2.6. Affected by this issue is the function qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp of the component qla2xxx. 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: scsi: qla2xxx: Unlink NVMe unsol ctx before freeing on LS reject error qla_nvme_xmt_ls_rsp() obtains uctx, which was linked into fcport->unsol_ctx_head by qla2xxx_process_purls_iocb() and is still linked when the NVMe transport calls back to transmit the LS response. On the error (out:) path the function frees uctx with kfree() but never removes it from the list. This leaves a freed node in fcport->unsol_ctx_head: the next list_add_tail() for that fcport writes through the freed node, and a subsequent list_del() can corrupt the list or panic. Unlink uctx with list_del() before kfree() on the error path, matching the other free sites in qla_nvme_release_lsrsp_cmd_kref() and qla2xxx_process_purls_pkt(). qla2x00_rel_sp() in the failure path only returns the SRB to its pool and does not invoke sp->put_fn, so the out: path is the sole free and uctx is always still linked there.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-97528 since 09/24/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. No form of authentication is required for exploitation. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $5k-$25k (estimation calculated on 09/25/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch a95fc5f1c12bba1dbff72bd2611e7fad0758831b/c55d649a6cc246c3ccd5d118faea230c46b60f35/e46160a5d4fa59bf4d5f3412b6b5cb79edb967dd 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
• 6.18.51
• 6.18.52
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6

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: 10.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 9.5

VulDB Base Score: 10.0
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 6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc1
Patch: a95fc5f1c12bba1dbff72bd2611e7fad0758831b/c55d649a6cc246c3ccd5d118faea230c46b60f35/e46160a5d4fa59bf4d5f3412b6b5cb79edb967dd

Timelineinfo

09/24/2026 CVE reserved
09/25/2026 +1 days Advisory disclosed
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry created
09/25/2026 +0 days VulDB entry last update

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: kernel.org

Advisory: git.kernel.org
Status: Confirmed

CVE: CVE-2026-97528 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97528
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-409916

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 12:46
Changes: 09/25/2026 12:46 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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