How severe is CVE-2026-72463?

CVE-2026-72463 has a CVSS score of 9.8/10, rated CRITICAL. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-72463?

CVE-2026-72463 affects the following packages: Kernel (Linux). Ecosystems affected: Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2026-72463?

Update Kernel to 7.1.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-72463 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-72463 in my Linux dependencies?

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.

How do I mitigate CVE-2026-72463 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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.

How does O3 Security protect against CVE-2026-72463?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-72463 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.

Is CVE-2026-72463 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-72463 yet. This does not mean the vulnerability cannot be exploited — absence of public exploits does not imply safety. Apply the recommended fix and use O3 Security to monitor your exposure.

When was CVE-2026-72463 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-72463 was published on August 15, 2026 and was last updated on August 18, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🐧

🐧 Linux

Not in CISA KEV

CRITICAL severity

CVE-2026-72463

CRITICAL

CVE-2026-72463 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-72463 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption

Published

Aug 15, 2026

Updated

Aug 18, 2026

Affected

1 pkg

Patched

1 / 1

Exploits

None indexed

Exploitation data as of Aug 18, 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:

xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption

xfrm async resumption hold skb->dev refcnt until after transport_finish. However, xfrm_rcv_cb may modify skb->dev to tunnel dev without taking device reference, such as vti_rcv_cb. The subsequent async resumption will decrement the tunnel device's reference count, which lead to uaf of tunnel dev and refcnt leak of orig dev as below:

unregister_netdevice: waiting for vti1 to become free. Usage count = -2

Stash the original skb->dev to fix refcnt imbalance. The new skb->dev set by xfrm_rcv_cb can race with device teardown. Extend rcu protection over xfrm_rcv_cb and transport_finish to prevent races.

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐧Linux	`Kernel`	≥ 7.0.0&&< 7.1.5	7.1.5

Detection & mitigation playbook

Open-source dependency

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.
Fix
Update Kernel to 7.1.5 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-72463 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-72463 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-2026-72463. 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: xfrm: Fix dev use-after-free in xfrm async resumption xfrm async resumption hold skb->dev refcnt until after transport_finish. However, xfrm_rcv_cb may modify skb->dev to tunnel dev without taking device reference, such as vti_rcv_cb. The subsequent async resumption will decrement the tunnel device's reference count, which lead to uaf of tunnel dev and refcnt leak of orig dev as below: unregister_netdevice: waiting for vti1 to become free. Usage count = -2 Stash the original skb->dev to fix refcnt imbalance. The new skb->d

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-72463 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-72463 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my dependencies How O3 SCA works