CVE-2026-31459
Received Received - Intake
Memory Leak and NULL Dereference in Linux Kernel DAMON_SYSFS

Publication date: 2026-04-22

Last updated on: 2026-05-06

Assigner: kernel.org

Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/damon/sysfs: fix param_ctx leak on damon_sysfs_new_test_ctx() failure Patch series "mm/damon/sysfs: fix memory leak and NULL dereference issues", v4. DAMON_SYSFS can leak memory under allocation failure, and do NULL pointer dereference when a privileged user make wrong sequences of control. Fix those. This patch (of 3): When damon_sysfs_new_test_ctx() fails in damon_sysfs_commit_input(), param_ctx is leaked because the early return skips the cleanup at the out label. Destroy param_ctx before returning.
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Meta Information
Published
2026-04-22
Last Modified
2026-05-06
Generated
2026-06-16
AI Q&A
2026-04-22
EPSS Evaluated
2026-06-15
NVD
CVE-2026-31459
EUVD
EUVD-2026-24798
Affected Vendors & Products
Showing 14 associated CPEs
Vendor Product Version / Range
linux linux_kernel 6.18
linux linux_kernel 6.18
linux linux_kernel 6.18
linux linux_kernel 6.18
linux linux_kernel 6.18
linux linux_kernel 6.18
linux linux_kernel 7.0
linux linux_kernel 7.0
linux linux_kernel 7.0
linux linux_kernel 7.0
linux linux_kernel 7.0
linux linux_kernel From 6.19 (inc) to 6.19.11 (exc)
linux linux_kernel From 6.18.1 (inc) to 6.18.21 (exc)
linux linux_kernel 6.17.6
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
CWE
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KEV
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CWE ID Description
CWE-401 The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.
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Executive Summary

This vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel's DAMON_SYSFS component. It involves a memory leak and a NULL pointer dereference that occur when a privileged user performs incorrect sequences of control. Specifically, when the function damon_sysfs_new_test_ctx() fails during damon_sysfs_commit_input(), a parameter context (param_ctx) is leaked because the cleanup code is skipped due to an early return. This can lead to resource leaks and potential crashes.

Impact Analysis

The vulnerability can cause memory leaks and NULL pointer dereferences in the Linux kernel, which may lead to system instability or crashes. Since it requires privileged user actions to trigger, it could potentially be exploited to disrupt system operations or degrade performance by exhausting memory resources.

Mitigation Strategies

The vulnerability has been resolved by a patch in the Linux kernel that fixes memory leaks and NULL pointer dereference issues in the DAMON_SYSFS subsystem. To mitigate this vulnerability, you should update your Linux kernel to a version that includes this patch.

  • Apply the patch series "mm/damon/sysfs: fix memory leak and NULL dereference issues", v4, or upgrade to a kernel version that contains this fix.
  • Avoid running privileged user operations that involve DAMON_SYSFS with incorrect control sequences until the patch is applied.
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