Linux Kernel CVE-2026-98436

Requires local access as an authenticated low-privilege user (CVSS PR:L) on a system running an affected Linux kernel (fixed in 7.2.7 and 7.3-rc1) with the accel/amdxdna accelerator driver loaded - which in turn requires AMD XDNA (Ryzen AI NPU) hardware to be present and the driver enabled. The specific abuse is exporting device buffers that were never meant to be exported; the exact trigger and how the exported buffer is leveraged are not described in the available sources. Limiting factors: no remote vector (AV:L), prior local authentication needed, and dependence on non-ubiquitous accelerator hardware plus a very recent kernel, which together make real-world exposure narrow.

Signals are largely consistent and point to a genuine but non-urgent, lower-tier issue despite the 7.8 'High' base score. The CVSS vector (AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N) requires a local, already-authenticated low-privilege user, which sharply limits exposure compared to a network-reachable flaw. EPSS is very low (0.14%, 3rd percentile) and the CVE is NOT in CISA KEV, with no public exploit identified - so there is no evidence of active or imminent exploitation. The vuln.today decision label is 'this_week', reflecting a fix-in-normal-cadence posture rather than emergency. The high C/I/A impacts drive the score, but they are only reachable by someone with local access to a system that both runs an affected kernel and has the amdxdna accelerator driver loaded (i.e. AMD XDNA/Ryzen AI NPU hardware), making this a targeted-hardware, local-privilege concern rather than a widespread remote threat. No conflicting signals of note; the main caveat is that the terse upstream description does not explain the trigger, so the exact impact (the tag suggests information disclosure) cannot be fully corroborated against the I:H/A:H claims in the supplied vector.

A local, low-privileged user on a machine equipped with an AMD XDNA NPU and running an affected Linux kernel interacts with the amdxdna accelerator driver and abuses the ability to export device buffers (e.g. via dma-buf) that were never intended to be shared, potentially exposing or corrupting device/kernel memory. No public exploit code is known, and the precise trigger is not described in the available sources. Exploitation needs prior local access and the specific accelerator hardware/driver to be present and in use.