What is CVE-2026-53261?

CVE-2026-53261 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 6.7 onward and patched in 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13 and others. CVE-2026-53261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-53261?

CVE-2026-53261 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-2026-53261?

Yes, CVE-2026-53261 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-53261 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-53261 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-2026-53261

Medium

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: devlink: Release nested relation on devlink free devlink relation state is normally released from devl_unregister(), which calls devlink_rel_put(). This misses devlink instances that get a nested relation before registration and then fail probe before devl_register() is reached. That flow can happen for SFs. The child devlink gets linked to its parent before registration, then a later probe error calls devlink_free() directly. Since the instance was never registered, devl_unregister() is not called and devlink->rel is leaked. Release any pending relation from devlink_free() as well. The registered path is unchanged because devl_unregister() already clears devlink->rel before devlink_free() runs.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-06-25

Last modified 2026-07-08

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-2026-53261 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 6.7 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13, 7.1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 6.7

Fixed in

✓ 6.12.94 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.36 6.18.x ✓ 7.0.13 7.0.x ✓ 7.1

References

4 total

Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/11324d52b0c63f4f202b35793c6507a575e9a689

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3522b21fd7e1863d0734537737bd59f1b90d0190

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/927f96861f939c0b517d13ed27bf4fabbfc1cfb3

Patch
Kernel Git
https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a9137286884703113b1c9e6403bd6d7d97b14754

Patch

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-53261

Severity Medium

CVSS score 5.5 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-06-25

Modified 2026-07-08

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-53261?

CVE-2026-53261 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 6.7 onward and has been patched in 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13 and others. CVE-2026-53261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-53261?

CVE-2026-53261 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-2026-53261?

Yes. CVE-2026-53261 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.12.94, 6.18.36, 7.0.13 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 6.7 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-53261 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-53261 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.