Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-23162 is a high-severity Double Free (CWE-415) vulnerability in Linux Linux Kernel. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 2th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SA-11 (Developer Testing and Evaluation) and SA-8 (Security and Privacy Engineering Principles) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary
Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.
CVE-2026-23162 is a double-free vulnerability (CWE-415) in the Linux kernel's drm/xe/nvm subsystem. The flaw occurs in the xe_nvm_init function during failure handling after auxiliary_device_init succeeds but auxiliary_device_add fails. In this scenario, auxiliary_device_uninit calls put_device, triggering the xe_nvm_release_dev release callback, which frees the associated nvm memory already kfree'd elsewhere, resulting in a double-free. This was detected by KASAN in kernel 6.19.0-rc2 during systemd-udevd execution.
The vulnerability carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). A local attacker with low privileges can exploit it with low complexity and no user interaction, potentially achieving high impacts on confidentiality, integrity, and availability through memory corruption, such as arbitrary code execution or kernel crashes.
Mitigation requires applying the upstream kernel patches from the referenced stable commits: 32887d8e4bc0696b3cb6c5915a42b39cfd3434f4 and 8a44241b0b83a6047c5448da1fff03fcc29496b5, available at git.kernel.org/stable. These patches move the kfree(nvm) to the auxiliary_device_init failure path and remove the erroneous goto path, with the fix originally cherry-picked from commit a3187c0c2bbd947ffff97f90d077ac88f9c2a215.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-5874
Vulnerability Data
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/xe/nvm: Fix double-free on aux add failure After a successful auxiliary_device_init(), aux_dev->dev.release (xe_nvm_release_dev()) is responsible for the kfree(nvm). When there is failure with auxiliary_device_add(), driver will call auxiliary_device_uninit(), which call…
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put_device(). So that the .release callback will be triggered to free the memory associated with the auxiliary_device. Move the kfree(nvm) into the auxiliary_device_init() failure path and remove the err goto path to fix below error. " [ 13.232905] ================================================================== [ 13.232911] BUG: KASAN: double-free in xe_nvm_init+0x751/0xf10 [xe] [ 13.233112] Free of addr ffff888120635000 by task systemd-udevd/273 [ 13.233120] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 273 Comm: systemd-udevd Not tainted 6.19.0-rc2-lgci-xe-kernel+ #225 PREEMPT(voluntary) ... [ 13.233125] Call Trace: [ 13.233126] <TASK> [ 13.233127] dump_stack_lvl+0x7f/0xc0 [ 13.233132] print_report+0xce/0x610 [ 13.233136] ? kasan_complete_mode_report_info+0x5d/0x1e0 [ 13.233139] ? xe_nvm_init+0x751/0xf10 [xe] ... " v2: drop err goto path. (Alexander) (cherry picked from commit a3187c0c2bbd947ffff97f90d077ac88f9c2a215)
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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- 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
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Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Developer testing and evaluation explicitly includes dynamic analysis and fuzzing that locate double-free defects before release.
Security engineering principles can require memory-safe allocation patterns or language features that structurally eliminate double-free opportunities.
Flaw remediation processes require identification and correction of memory-management defects such as double free once discovered.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices directly prevent double-free errors via static analysis, safe memory APIs, and testing.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development can detect double-free conditions before release.
Secure development life cycle includes memory-safety practices that can prevent double-free bugs.
Application security requirements can mandate memory-safety rules that reduce double-free risk.
Secure system architecture and engineering principles can prescribe safe memory-management patterns.
Secure coding standards directly address proper use of free() and similar functions.
Hardening callouts derived
Configuration rules from DISA STIG baselines that bear on weaknesses of the type cited by this CVE. Each rule is shown with the relationship its mapping actually records, against the CWE it was authored against. Derived via CVE→CWE over `controls_xwalks` (authoritative rows only; rows rated `none` are excluded).
Oracle Linux 8 (1 rule)
- V-248590 OL 8 must clear the page allocator to prevent use-after-free attacks. prevents CWE-415