Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-72463

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption xfrm async resumption hold skb->dev refcnt until after transport_finish. However, xfrm_rcv_cb may modify skb->dev to tunnel dev without taking device reference, such as vti_rcv_cb. The subsequent async resumption will decrement the tunnel device's reference count, which lead to uaf of tunnel dev and refcnt leak of orig dev as below: unregister_netdevice: waiting for vti1 to become free. Usage count = -2 Stash the original skb->dev to fix refcnt imbalance. The new skb->dev set by xfrm_rcv_cb can race with device teardown. Extend rcu protection over xfrm_rcv_cb and transport_finish to prevent races.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.8 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.006 (48.2th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 48th percentile — 48.2% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-72463: held from 0.004 to 0.006.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.006 · change: +0.003

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 7.1.5, 1c428b03840094410c5fb6a5db30640486bbbfcb, 7.2-rc1

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72463?
CVE-2026-72463 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Linux. CVSS score: 9.8/10. Published 2026-08-15.
How severe is CVE-2026-72463?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.8 out of 10.