Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2 XFS xchk_dirtree_create_path memory leak

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.
6.0	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2. It has been classified as critical. The affected element is the function xchk_dirtree_create_path of the component XFS. The manipulation leads to memory leak. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-97543. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. There is no exploit available. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.110/6.18.52/7.2.6/7.3-rc2 and classified as critical. This issue affects the function xchk_dirtree_create_path of the component XFS. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a memory leak vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-401. The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, which slowly consumes remaining memory. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfs: destroy seen inode bitmap when we fail to add a dirpath LOLLM observes a memory leak in xchk_dirtree_create_path if we create the directory path object but appending the name to the path fails. When this happens, we don't tear down the (empty) seen inode bitmap. This is a pretty trivial error, but let's not leave logic bombs. Do the same for a similar bug in xrep_dirtree_create_adoption_path.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-97543 since 09/24/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. 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 09/25/2026). MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1499 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7 or 7.3-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 3b10ca4302ee2dda4233f70b2033883ee376fa6a/0b756de8167f2f06ffceadc71cb17c1fc7be4be8/582f54dce62043f7a0503ab8c76d718d0293da59/1a441c6842da75c5b862cc1c9f7969d6a93b54b9 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

• 6.12.110
• 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
• 7.2.0
• 7.2.1
• 7.2.2
• 7.2.3
• 7.2.4
• 7.2.5
• 7.2.6
• 7.3-rc1
• 7.3-rc2

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: 6.3
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.0

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.0
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: Memory leak
CWE: CWE-401 / CWE-404
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 6.12.111/6.18.53/7.2.7/7.3-rc3
Patch: 3b10ca4302ee2dda4233f70b2033883ee376fa6a/0b756de8167f2f06ffceadc71cb17c1fc7be4be8/582f54dce62043f7a0503ab8c76d718d0293da59/1a441c6842da75c5b862cc1c9f7969d6a93b54b9

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-2026-97543 (🔒)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2026-97543
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-410009

Entryinfo

Created: 09/25/2026 13:47
Changes: 09/25/2026 13:47 (59)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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Discussion

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