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CVE-2026-23142

N/A Unknown

📋 TL;DR

A memory leak and system interface disruption vulnerability in the Linux kernel's DAMON sysfs subsystem. When DAMOS-scheme directory setup fails after creating access_pattern subdirectories, those subdirectories aren't cleaned up, causing memory leaks and potentially breaking the DAMON sysfs interface until system reboot. Affects Linux systems using DAMON memory management features.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:
  • Linux kernel
Versions: Specific kernel versions with the vulnerable commit; exact range requires checking git history against stable commits provided.
Operating Systems: Linux distributions using affected kernel versions
Default Config Vulnerable: ✅ No
Notes: Only vulnerable when DAMON memory management subsystem is enabled and used, and when specific directory setup failures occur.

⚠️ Manual Verification Required

This CVE does not have specific version information in our database, so automatic vulnerability detection cannot determine if your system is affected.

Why? The CVE database entry doesn't specify which versions are vulnerable (no version ranges provided by the vendor/NVD).

🔒 Custom verification scripts are available for registered users. Sign up free to download automated test scripts.

Recommended Actions:
  1. Review the CVE details at NVD
  2. Check vendor security advisories for your specific version
  3. Test if the vulnerability is exploitable in your environment
  4. Consider updating to the latest version as a precaution

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Persistent memory leak leading to system instability or denial of service, with DAMON sysfs interface becoming unusable until reboot.

🟠

Likely Case

Minor memory leak and temporary loss of DAMON sysfs functionality when specific setup failures occur.

🟢

If Mitigated

No impact if DAMON features aren't used or if proper error handling prevents the specific failure condition.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Requires local access and specific DAMON configuration to trigger.
🏢 Internal Only: LOW - Requires privileged access to trigger the specific directory setup failure scenario.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No
Weaponized: UNKNOWN
Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No
Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires triggering specific failure conditions during DAMON sysfs directory setup, which may be difficult to achieve intentionally.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: Kernel versions containing the fix commits referenced in the CVE

Vendor Advisory: https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/16236b0b4a08fa3e326cf1373ef789dabdc2e30d

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Update Linux kernel to version containing fix commits. 2. For distributions: Use package manager (apt/yum/dnf) to install latest kernel. 3. Reboot system to load new kernel.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Disable DAMON subsystem

Linux

Prevent vulnerability by disabling DAMON memory management features

echo 'blacklist damon' >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf
reboot

🧯 If You Can't Patch

  • Monitor system memory usage for unusual leaks
  • Avoid using DAMON sysfs interface operations that could trigger the failure condition

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check kernel version and verify if it contains the vulnerable commit: uname -r and examine git history

Check Version:

uname -r

Verify Fix Applied:

Verify kernel version is updated to one containing fix commits, and test DAMON sysfs operations

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

  • Kernel logs showing memory allocation failures
  • DAMON subsystem error messages

Network Indicators:

  • None - local vulnerability only

SIEM Query:

kernel: *DAMON* OR kernel: *memory leak* OR kernel: *sysfs* error

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2026-23142
CVSS v3 Score: N/A (Unknown)
Published: February 14, 2026
Last Updated: February 18, 2026

🔗 References

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