Memory Leak in Linux Kernel DAMON

Publication date: 2026-05-27

Last updated on: 2026-06-25

Assigner: kernel.org

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/damon/stat: fix memory leak on damon_start() failure in damon_stat_start() Destroy the DAMON context and reset the global pointer when damon_start() fails. Otherwise, the context allocated by damon_stat_build_ctx() is leaked, and the stale damon_stat_context pointer will be overwritten on the next enable attempt, making the old allocation permanently unreachable.

CVSS Scores

EPSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-05-27

Last Modified

2026-06-25

Generated

2026-07-06

AI Q&A

2026-05-27

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-05

NVD

CVE-2026-46087

EUVD

EUVD-2026-32470

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.19 (inc) to 7.0.4 (exc)
linux	linux_kernel	From 6.17 (inc) to 6.18.27 (exc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

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.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

This vulnerability occurs in the Linux kernel's DAMON subsystem, specifically in the damon_stat_start() function. When damon_start() fails, the allocated DAMON context is not properly destroyed, causing a memory leak. Additionally, the global pointer to the DAMON context remains stale and can be overwritten on subsequent enable attempts, making the previously allocated memory permanently unreachable.

Impact Analysis

The impact of this vulnerability is a memory leak within the Linux kernel. Over time, repeated failures in damon_start() can cause the system to consume more memory unnecessarily, potentially leading to degraded system performance or instability due to exhausted memory resources.

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