# CVE-2026-72080: fs/resctrl: Fix use-after-free during unmount

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel resctrl filesystem allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges during unmount operations.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72080, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72080, GHSA-3mx4-vrgg-r9xh, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72080

## What is CVE-2026-72080?

CVE-2026-72080 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

fs/resctrl: Fix use-after-free during unmount

During unmount or failure teardown all mon_data structures that contain
monitoring event file private data are freed after which kernfs nodes are
removed. However, the RDT_DELETED flag is never set for the statically
allocated default resource group.

A concurrent reader of an event file associated with the default resource
group may, after dropping kernfs active protection, block on rdtgroup_mutex
while unmount proceeds to free the file private data and destroy the kernfs
node without waiting for the reader.

When the mutex is released, the reader wakes up, observes that RDT_DELETED
is not set for the default group, and dereferences the already-freed
file private data.

The scenario can be depicted as follows:
  CPU0                                      CPU1
   /*
    * Default resource group's
    * monitoring data accessible via
    * kernfs file with kernfs_node::priv
    * pointing to a struct mon_data.
    * User opens the file for reading.
    */
   rdtgroup_mondata_show()                 /* arch encounters fatal error */
    rdtgroup_kn_lock_live()                 resctrl_exit()
     atomic_inc(&rdtgroup_default.waitcount) cpus_read_lock()
     kernfs_break_active_protection(kn)      mutex_lock(&rdtgroup_mutex)
     cpus_read_lock()                        resctrl_fs_teardown()
     mutex_lock(&rdtgroup_mutex)              rmdir_all_sub()
                                              mon_put_kn_priv()
                                               /* Delete all mon_data structures */
                                              rdtgroup_destroy_root()
                                               kernfs_destroy_root()
                                               rdtgroup_default.kn = NULL
                                             mutex_unlock(&rdtgroup_mutex)
     /*
      * rdtgroup_default.flags is empty so
      * rdtgroup_kn_lock_live() returns
      * &rdtgroup_default
      */
     md = of->kn->priv;

     /* md points to freed mon_data */

Set RDT_DELETED for the default group unconditionally since the flag does
not lead to the freeing of this statically allocated group.

Do not allow a new resctrl mount if there are any waiters on default group
of previous mount. A new mount will re-initialize the default group that
would appear to waiters from previous mount as though the default group is
accessible causing them to access the mon_data structures from the previous
mount that have been removed.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72080?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72080?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72080 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72080 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72080 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72080 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-72080 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-72080/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72080/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72080
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72080
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72080

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72080/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.