What is CVE-2020-36790?

CVE-2020-36790 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401), affecting Linux kernel versions from 5.7 onward and patched in 5.8.6 and 5.9. CVE-2020-36790 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-36790?

CVE-2020-36790 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2020-36790?

Yes, CVE-2020-36790 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.8.6 and 5.9. If you are running Linux kernel 5.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2020-36790 actively exploited?

CVE-2020-36790 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. See MITRE CWE for full details: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/401.html

CVE-2020-36790

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvmet: fix a memory leak We forgot to free new_model_number

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2025-05-01

Last modified 2025-11-06

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

5.5

out of 10

Medium

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

Low

Integrity

None

Availability

High

Vector string

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Weakness type

CWE-401

CVE-2020-36790 is a Memory Leak vulnerability

What is Memory Leak?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. Learn more on MITRE CWE

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 5.7 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.8.6, 5.9 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 5.7

Fixed in

✓ 5.8.6 5.8.x ✓ 5.9

References

The following references provide additional information about CVE-2020-36790 including vendor advisories, patch commits, exploit details, and third-party analysis. Links are sourced from the NIST NVD database.

Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/227064b2ca9e62270ed445665ae849c73f0dfb2c
Patch
Kernel patch commit
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/382fee1a8b623e2546a3e15e80517389e0e0673e
Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2020-36790

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2025-05-01

Modified 2025-11-06

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2020-36790?

CVE-2020-36790 is a Medium severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10 , classified as a Memory Leak flaw (CWE-401) . It affects Linux kernel versions from 5.7 onward and has been patched in 5.8.6 and 5.9. CVE-2020-36790 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2020-36790?

CVE-2020-36790 has a CVSS score of 5.5 out of 10, rated Medium severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2020-36790?

Yes — CVE-2020-36790 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.8.6 and 5.9. If you are running Linux kernel 5.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2020-36790 actively exploited?

No — CVE-2020-36790 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
What is Memory Leak (CWE-401)?

The product does not release memory after use, causing gradual resource exhaustion. View CWE-401 on MITRE CWE →