What is CVE-2026-72144?

CVE-2026-72144 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, affecting Linux kernel versions from 2.6.37 onward and patched in 6.6.148, 6.12.97, 6.18.40 and others. CVE-2026-72144 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72144?

CVE-2026-72144 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity. The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72144?

Yes, CVE-2026-72144 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.148, 6.12.97, 6.18.40 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.37 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

Is CVE-2026-72144 actively exploited?

CVE-2026-72144 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

CVE-2026-72144

High

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: platform/x86: dell-laptop: fix missing cleanups in init error path dell_init() initializes several resources after dell_setup_rfkill(), including the optional touchpad LED, keyboard backlight LED, battery hook, debugfs directory and dell-laptop notifier. If a later LED or backlight registration fails, the error path only tears down the battery hook and rfkill resources. This leaves the notifier, debugfs directory, keyboard backlight LED and optional touchpad LED registered after dell_init() returns an error. Add the missing cleanup calls before tearing down rfkill.

Package Linux Kernel

Published 2026-08-15

Last modified 2026-08-17

CVSS version 3.1

Patch available

Yes

CVSS 3.1 score

7.8

out of 10

High

Attack Vector

Local

Attack Complexity

Low

Privileges Required

Low

User Interaction

None

Scope

Unchanged

Confidentiality

High

Integrity

High

Availability

High

Vector string

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

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 2.6.37 and later are affected. Fixed in 6.6.148, 6.12.97, 6.18.40, 7.1.5, 7.2 and their respective stable series.

Affected from

≥ 2.6.37

Fixed in

✓ 6.6.148 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.97 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.40 6.18.x ✓ 7.1.5 7.1.x ✓ 7.2

References

5 total

Details

CVE ID CVE-2026-72144

Severity High

CVSS score 7.8 / 10

CVSS version 3.1

Published 2026-08-15

Modified 2026-08-17

KEV No

Patch

Yes

Package linux

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-72144?

CVE-2026-72144 is a High severity Linux kernel vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10 . It affects Linux kernel versions from 2.6.37 onward and has been patched in 6.6.148, 6.12.97, 6.18.40 and others. CVE-2026-72144 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
What is the CVSS score for CVE-2026-72144?

CVE-2026-72144 has a CVSS score of 7.8 out of 10, rated High severity (CVSS 3.1). The vector string is CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-72144?

Yes. CVE-2026-72144 has been patched. Fixed versions include 6.6.148, 6.12.97, 6.18.40 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 2.6.37 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.
Is CVE-2026-72144 actively exploited?

No. CVE-2026-72144 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.