CVE-2026-89942 (CVSS 7.8)

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iio: buffer: Fix potential use-after-free in anonymous buffer release An anonymous buffer handle holds a reference to the underlying IIO device. The reference is dropped in the buffer handle's release function. If the device has been removed, either through unbind or hot-unplug, the buffer handle might hold the last reference. The release function takes the mutex for the buffer using a guard, which means the unlock happens after all the code in the function, including `iio_device_put()`. If the anonymous buffer holds the last reference this might free both the IIO device and the buffer, which contains the mutex, leading to use-after-free when the mutex is unlocked. Fix this by using a scoped guard just around the buffer dmabuf list access, making sure the mutex is unlocked before releasing the IIO device. Version 10 of the patch that introduced this issue used this exact scheme of first unlocking and then dropping the reference [1]. During review it was suggested to use a guard instead, and version 11 made that change [2].

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CVSS v3.1 Score

7.8

HIGH

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0016

Probability of exploitation

0.05%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6288b593e76eb10329326f2cd51e32557203b9e5 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6d4bdbf7bad63e759bf20259c527f69a1209e3dd https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ab53077511cde811bf3ee219426c522329c41226 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1f8f0e8e0af9cae8150658dc7bb51332f984893

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-89942? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iio: buffer: Fix potential use-after-free in anonymous buffer release An anonymous buffer handle holds a reference to the underlying IIO device. The reference is dropped in the buffer handle's release function. If the device has been removed, either through unbind or hot-unplug, the buffer handle might hold the last reference. The release function takes the mutex for the buffer using a guard, which means the unlock happens after all the code in the function, including `iio_device_put()`. If the anonymous buffer holds the last reference this might free both the IIO device and the buffer, which contains the mutex, leading to use-after-free when the mutex is unlocked. Fix this by using a scoped guard just around the buffer dmabuf list access, making sure the mutex is unlocked before releasing the IIO device. Version 10 of the patch that introduced this issue used this exact scheme of first unlocking and then dropping the reference [1]. During review it was suggested to use a guard instead, and version 11 made that change [2]. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (HIGH).

How severe is CVE-2026-89942? +

CVE-2026-89942 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.8 out of 10, rated HIGH. This is a high-severity vulnerability that should be prioritized for patching. The EPSS score is 0.0016, placing it in the 0th percentile for exploitation probability.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-89942? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

CVE-2026-89942