CVE-2026-23138
5.5 · MEDIUMOverview
CVE-2026-23138 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on February 14, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
Technical Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
tracing: Add recursion protection in kernel stack trace recording
A bug was reported about an infinite recursion caused by tracing the rcu
events with the kernel stack trace trigger enabled. The stack trace code
called back into RCU which then called the stack trace again.
Expand the ftrace recursion protection to add a set of bits to protect
events from recursion. Each bit represents the context that the event is
in (normal, softirq, interrupt and NMI).
Have the stack trace code use the interrupt context to protect against
recursion.
Note, the bug showed an issue in both the RCU code as well as the tracing
stacktrace code. This only handles the tracing stack trace side of the
bug. The RCU fix will be handled separately.
Remediation
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | >= 5.8, < 6.18.6 | Affected |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-23138?
CVE-2026-23138 is a medium-severity vulnerability affecting linux linux_kernel. It was published on February 14, 2026 and has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5 (MEDIUM).
How severe is CVE-2026-23138?
This vulnerability has a CVSS 3.1 base score of 5.5, rated MEDIUM. It requires local or adjacent network access to exploit. Some level of privileges is required for exploitation.
How do I fix or remediate CVE-2026-23138?
Check the references section for vendor advisories and patches from linux. Update linux_kernel to the latest patched version. If immediate patching is not possible, review the CVSS vector to understand the attack surface and apply compensating controls such as network segmentation or access restrictions.
How can CyberStrike help with CVE-2026-23138?
CyberStrike's AI-powered security agents can automatically detect CVE-2026-23138 across your infrastructure using autonomous pentesting, DAST scanning, and HackBrowser. The platform continuously monitors for known vulnerabilities and provides actionable remediation guidance prioritized by real-world exploitability.
How CyberStrike Helps
AI agents map your attack surface to find vulnerabilities like this one.
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