CVE-2026-53278 arm_mpam: Check whether the config array is allocated before destroying it

What is CVE-2026-53278?

CVE-2026-53278 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 26 Jun 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:

arm_mpam: Check whether the config array is allocated before destroying it

__destroy_component_cfg() is called to free the configuration array. It uses the embedded 'garbage' structure, which means the array has to be allocated.

If __destroy_component_cfg() is called from mpam_disable() before the configuration was ever allocated, then a NULL pointer is dereferenced.

Check for this case and return early if the configuration is not allocated.

__destroy_component_cfg() also frees the mbwu_state as this is allocated by __allocate_component_cfg(). As the mbwu_state is allocated after comp->cfg is set, and is also under mpam_list_lock, only the first pointer needs checking.

Weakness: CWE-476

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-53278?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-53278?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-53278 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-53278 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-53278, GHSA-hfvr-wfpf-26r6, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-53278.