CVE-2026-72282 KVM: Move kvm_io_bus_get_dev() locking responsibilities to callers
A race condition in KVM's I/O bus handling could allow attackers to trigger a use-after-free, potentially leading to code execution or privilege escalation.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-72282?
CVE-2026-72282 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:
KVM: Move kvm_io_bus_get_dev() locking responsibilities to callers
kvm_io_bus_get_dev() returns a device that is only matched by the address, and nothing else. This can cause a lifetime issue if the matched device is not the expected type, as by the time the caller can introspect the object, it might be gone (the srcu lock having been dropped).
Given that there is only a single user of this helper, the simplest option is to move the locking responsibility to the caller, which can keep the srcu lock held for as long as it wants.
Note that this aligns with other kvm_io_bus*() helpers, which already require the srcu lock to be held by the callers.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72282?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72282?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-72282 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72282 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-72282, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72282, GHSA-4pjm-pq6c-p9x5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72282.