How severe is CVE-2026-72482?

CVE-2026-72482 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2026-72482?

CVE-2026-72482 affects the following packages: Kernel (Linux). Ecosystems affected: Linux.

How do I fix CVE-2026-72482?

Update Kernel to 6.18.40 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-72482 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.

How do I detect CVE-2026-72482 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-2026-72482 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-2026-72482?

O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2026-72482 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-2026-72482 actively exploited in the wild?

No public exploit code has been indexed for CVE-2026-72482 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-2026-72482 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2026-72482 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

HIGH severity

CVE-2026-72482

HIGH

CVE-2026-72482 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in Kernel. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2026-72482 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.

gpib: fix double decrement of descriptor_busy in command_ioctl()

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:

gpib: fix double decrement of descriptor_busy in command_ioctl()

commit d1857f8296dc ("gpib: fix use-after-free in IO ioctl handlers") introduced a descriptor_busy reference counter to pin struct gpib_descriptor across IO ioctl operations. In command_ioctl(), the error path inside the loop decrements descriptor_busy and breaks, but execution then falls through to the unconditional decrement after the loop, underflowing the counter to -1.

This re-enables the use-after-free that the original fix was meant to prevent: a concurrent close_dev_ioctl() sees descriptor_busy == 0 on an actively-used descriptor and frees it.

Remove the early decrement from the error path. The post-loop decrement already handles all exit paths, matching the correct pattern used in read_ioctl() and write_ioctl().

Affected Packages

1 total 1 fixed

Ecosystem	Package	Vulnerable range	Fix
🐧Linux	`Kernel`	≥ 6.19.0&&< 6.18.40	6.18.40

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 6.18.40 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-72482 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-2026-72482 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-2026-72482. 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: gpib: fix double decrement of descriptor_busy in command_ioctl() commit d1857f8296dc ("gpib: fix use-after-free in IO ioctl handlers") introduced a descriptor_busy reference counter to pin struct gpib_descriptor across IO ioctl operations. In command_ioctl(), the error path inside the loop decrements descriptor_busy and breaks, but execution then falls through to the unconditional decrement after the loop, underflowing the counter to -1. This re-enables the use-after-free that the original fix was meant to prevent: a concu

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2026-72482 in your dependencies?

O3 detects CVE-2026-72482 across Linux dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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