# CVE-2026-23195: cgroup/dmem: avoid pool UAF

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's cgroup/dmem subsystem allows local attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23195, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23195, GHSA-xcg5-9p3p-fgrj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23195

## What is CVE-2026-23195?

CVE-2026-23195 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

cgroup/dmem: avoid pool UAF

An UAF issue was observed:

BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in page_counter_uncharge+0x65/0x150
Write of size 8 at addr ffff888106715440 by task insmod/527

CPU: 4 UID: 0 PID: 527 Comm: insmod    6.19.0-rc7-next-20260129+ #11
Tainted: [O]=OOT_MODULE
Call Trace:
<TASK>
dump_stack_lvl+0x82/0xd0
kasan_report+0xca/0x100
kasan_check_range+0x39/0x1c0
page_counter_uncharge+0x65/0x150
dmem_cgroup_uncharge+0x1f/0x260

Allocated by task 527:

Freed by task 0:

The buggy address belongs to the object at ffff888106715400
which belongs to the cache kmalloc-512 of size 512
The buggy address is located 64 bytes inside of
freed 512-byte region [ffff888106715400, ffff888106715600)

The buggy address belongs to the physical page:

Memory state around the buggy address:
ffff888106715300: fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc
ffff888106715380: fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc fc
>ffff888106715400: fa fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
				     ^
ffff888106715480: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb
ffff888106715500: fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb fb

The issue occurs because a pool can still be held by a caller after its
associated memory region is unregistered. The current implementation frees
the pool even if users still hold references to it (e.g., before uncharge
operations complete).

This patch adds a reference counter to each pool, ensuring that a pool is
only freed when its reference count drops to zero.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23195?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23195?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23195 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23195 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23195 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23195 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23195 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23195/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23195/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23195
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23195
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23195

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23195/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.