A high-severity use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel allows a local authenticated user to escalate privileges or crash the system.

The vulnerability exists in the kmod duplicate request handling logic, where insufficient reference counting leads to a use-after-free condition when parallel processes access the same request instance. An attacker with local access (low privileges) can trigger this flaw to manipulate kernel memory.

Successful exploitation of this vulnerability allows a local attacker to execute arbitrary code with kernel-level privileges, leading to a complete compromise of the operating system. With a CVSS score of 7.8, this represents a significant risk to data confidentiality, integrity, and system availability. Organizations relying on Linux-based infrastructure should prioritize this update to prevent local privilege escalation.

Immediate Action: Update the Linux kernel to version 6.12.110, 6.18.52, 7.2.6, or a later stable release provided by your distribution vendor.

Proactive Monitoring: Monitor system logs for kernel oops or unexpected service restarts, which may indicate attempted exploitation of kernel memory corruption.

Compensating Controls: Restrict local shell access to untrusted users and enforce strict privilege management to minimize the attack surface available to local actors.

Public Exploit Available: No

The vulnerability poses a severe risk to any Linux environment where local users have shell access or where multi-tenant containers share a vulnerable host kernel. Administrators must treat this as a high-priority patch item. Apply the provided kernel security updates immediately to protect the integrity of the underlying host operating system.