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🐧 Linux
Not in CISA KEV

CVE-2026-72071

CVE-2026-72071 is a security vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-72071 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup()

Published
Aug 15, 2026
Updated
Aug 16, 2026
Affected
1 pkg
Patched
1 / 1
Exploits
None indexed
Exploitation data as of Aug 16, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Real-World Exposure

1 pkg affected
🐧Kernel

Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Linux packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.

Description

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

tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup()

user_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under rcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take event_mutex:

rcu_read_lock();
list_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link)
	enabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event);

user_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with list_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the enabler's user_event reference with user_event_put() and frees the enabler with kfree(). A reader that loaded the enabler before the list_del_rcu() can still be walking it, which leads to two use-after-frees:

  • kfree(enabler) frees the enabler while that reader dereferences enabler->event.

  • user_event_put() may drop the last reference to the user_event, which is then freed (via delayed_destroy_user_event() on a work queue), while the same reader does user_event_get(orig->event) on it.

Both are reachable by an unprivileged task that can open user_events_data: one multithreaded process that registers an enabler and then concurrently unregisters it and calls fork() triggers the race. KASAN reports a slab-use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() during clone(), with a "refcount_t: addition on 0" warning when the user_event is freed.

The enabler use-after-free was found first; the user_event one was reported by XIAO WU, and the earlier enabler-only fix did not address it.

Defer both the user_event_put() and the kfree(enabler) to a work item queued with queue_rcu_work(), so they run only after an RCU grace period, once all readers walking the enabler list have finished. The put must run in process context because user_event_put() takes event_mutex on the last reference, so a work queue is used rather than call_rcu(). The now-unlocked put lets the locked argument of user_event_enabler_destroy() be removed; all callers are updated.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed
EcosystemPackageVulnerable rangeFix
🐧LinuxKernel6.4.0&&< 6.6.1486.6.148

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency
  1. Detect

    Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for Kernel. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.

  2. Fix

    Update Kernel to 6.6.148 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-72071 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

  3. Workarounds

    If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.

  4. How O3 protects you

    O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-72071 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Tailored to CVE-2026-72071. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: tracing/user_events: Fix use-after-free in user_event_mm_dup() user_event_mm_dup() walks the parent mm's enabler list locklessly under rcu_read_lock() during fork() (from copy_process()); it does not take event_mutex: rcu_read_lock(); list_for_each_entry_rcu(enabler, &old_mm->enablers, mm_enablers_link) enabler->event = user_event_get(orig->event); user_event_enabler_destroy() removes an enabler from that list with list_del_rcu() and then, without waiting for a grace period, drops the enabler's user_event reference wit
O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-72071 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-72071 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.