CVE-2026-72266: fbdev: vesafb: fix memory leak in vesafb_probe()

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-08-15 · updated 2026-08-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: fbdev: vesafb: fix memory leak in vesafb_probe() Since commit 73ce73c30ba9 ("fbdev: Transfer video= option strings to caller; clarify ownership") the string returned from fb_get_options() is expected to be freed by the caller. But the string is not freed in vesafb_probe(). Fix that by freeing the option string after setup.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 6.4 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/124df55c7201d011a3fead2205685b6c47eae093
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/43af398217ca8940bf30643fd1150b4c655b8a88
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/58bc18e03481b62f0ec53fe47f36615d52660a7d
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7b96ce9f8e47538c3c6eebbb217c94d696975cac
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b15d708995c01bbffe7dcd634a31959f6805bed3

Get alerted when CVE-2026-72266 or the next vulnerability affects your stack