Bug 2516693 (CVE-2026-72266)

Summary: CVE-2026-72266 kernel: fbdev: vesafb: fix memory leak in vesafb_probe()
Product: [Other] Security Response Reporter: OSIDB Bzimport <bzimport>
Component: vulnerabilityAssignee: Product Security DevOps Team <prodsec-dev>
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Priority: low    
Version: unspecifiedCC: rhel-process-autobot, watson-tool-maintainers
Target Milestone: ---Keywords: Security
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Hardware: All   
OS: Linux   
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A flaw was found in the `fbdev: vesafb` component of the Linux kernel. A memory leak occurs in the `vesafb_probe()` function because a string returned from `fb_get_options()` is not properly freed. This oversight can lead to resource exhaustion, potentially resulting in a Denial of Service (DoS) for the system.
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Description OSIDB Bzimport 2026-08-15 06:26:11 UTC
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.