CVE-2026-72309 tracing/remotes: Fix leak in trace_remote_alloc_buffer() error path
A memory leak in the Linux kernel tracing subsystem can lead to resource exhaustion and denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-72309?
CVE-2026-72309 is a memory corruption 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:
tracing/remotes: Fix leak in trace_remote_alloc_buffer() error path
If page allocation fails in trace_remote_alloc_buffer(), desc->nr_cpus is not yet incremented for the current CPU. As a consequence, on error, half-allocated rb_desc will not be freed in trace_remote_free_buffer().
Increment desc->nr_cpus as soon as the first allocation for the current CPU has succeeded.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72309?
How do I fix CVE-2026-72309?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. Memory-safe languages, compiler hardening and fuzzing prevent most new cases. More about Memory corruption.
Is CVE-2026-72309 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72309 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72309, GHSA-8hrf-wfxr-vw68, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72309.