A use‑after‑free condition is triggered in the XFS filesystem when a temporary file is created, the sc->tempip pointer is set, but the creation fails and the pointer remains dangling. If an attacker can cause the kernel to dereference this freed memory, arbitrary code could be executed or the kernel could crash, leading to loss of confidentiality, integrity, or availability.

All Linux systems running the Linux kernel before the fix are impacted. The vulnerability is present in the xfs filesystem implementation across all mainstream Linux distributions that ship the affected kernel version.

The CVSS score and EPSS are not provided, and the vulnerability is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog, but the use‑after‑free flaw is inherently severe. Exploitation requires an attacker to influence filesystem operations or supply crafted data that forces the kernel to use the freed pointer. No public exploits are known at this time, but the potential for remote code execution or denial of service remains high if the flaw is triggered.