CVE-2026-53278: arm_mpam: Check whether the config array is allocated before destroying it

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-06-26 · updated 2026-07-08
Weakness: CWE-476

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: arm_mpam: Check whether the config array is allocated before destroying it __destroy_component_cfg() is called to free the configuration array. It uses the embedded 'garbage' structure, which means the array has to be allocated. If __destroy_component_cfg() is called from mpam_disable() before the configuration was ever allocated, then a NULL pointer is dereferenced. Check for this case and return early if the configuration is not allocated. __destroy_component_cfg() also frees the mbwu_state as this is allocated by __allocate_component_cfg(). As the mbwu_state is allocated after comp->cfg is set, and is also under mpam_list_lock, only the first pointer needs checking.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.19 before 7.0.10; 7.1-rc1, 7.1-rc2, 7.1-rc3 — fixed in 7.0.10

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.0.10. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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