Kernel use-after-free via file descriptor syscalls
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-45251 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | freebsd |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-05-21 10:16:26 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-05-21 19:01:22 UTC |
| Description | A file descriptor can be closed while a thread is blocked in a poll(2) or select(2) call waiting for that descriptor. Because the blocked thread does not hold a reference to the underlying object, this closure may result in the object being freed while the thread remains blocked. In this situation, the kernel must remove the blocked thread from the per-object wait queue prior to freeing the object. In the case of some file descriptor types, the kernel failed to unlink blocked threads from the object before freeing it. When the blocked thread is subsequently woken, it accesses memory that has already been freed resulting in a use-after-free vulnerability. The use-after-free vulnerability may be triggered by an unprivileged local user and can be exploited to obtain superuser privileges. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.8 HIGH from ADP
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS: 0.000060000 probability, percentile 0.004460000 (date 2026-05-27)
Problem Types: CWE-416 | CWE-416 CWE-416: Use After Free
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | ADP | DECLARED | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 | Secondary | 7.8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | - | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p1 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p10 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p11 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p12 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p13 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p2 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p3 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p4 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p5 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p6 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p7 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p8 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.3 | p9 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.4 | - | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.4 | p1 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.4 | p2 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.4 | p3 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.4 | p4 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 14.4 | rc1 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | - | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p1 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p2 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p3 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p4 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p5 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p6 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p7 | All | All |
| Operating System | Freebsd | Freebsd | 15.0 | p8 | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-26:19.file.asc | [email protected] | security.freebsd.org | Vendor Advisory |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: 75Acol, Lexpl0it, fcgboy, and robinzeng2015 (en)
CNA: Ryan at Calif.io (en)
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.