CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-45914NVD status: Undergoing Analysis

Linux: Use After Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-45914 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.8 out of 10. It can be exploited with local access to the system by an attacker with a low-privileged account, without any action from a user. The record lists versions 05112ba67c824ab416cd54307c0b50aba9f0047a, efd68429f23fb4015b0ebc2392334059e06fad18, f448acd86835a650f9ea83460b9ca347d3aafba5 as the first without the flaw, so updating Linux to one of those releases or later removes the exposure. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.13% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.

Next patch cycle

High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.

What to do

  1. Update Linux to 05112ba67c824ab416cd54307c0b50aba9f0047a or efd68429f23fb4015b0ebc2392334059e06fad18 or f448acd86835a650f9ea83460b9ca347d3aafba5 or 914b47c9b824d3d74f31c764163edf93302100b1, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.10.252 or 6.1.165 or 6.6.128 or 6.12.75, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux3ce9b7ae9d4d148672b35147aaf7987a4f82bb94 up to, but not including, 05112ba67c824ab416cd54307c0b50aba9f0047a; 533ead425f8109b02fecc7e72d612b8898ec347a up to, but not including, efd68429f23fb4015b0ebc2392334059e06fad18; fa37adcf1d564ef58b9dfb01b6c36d35c5294bad up to, but not including, f448acd86835a650f9ea83460b9ca347d3aafba5; 68d62e5bebbd118b763e8bb210d5cf2198ef450c up to, but not including, 914b47c9b824d3d74f31c764163edf93302100b1; 5aa2139201667c1f644601e4529c4acd6bf8db5a up to, but not including, 14a38784e09aebc21207dc32fffa05247fc3dd64; 6946c726c3f4c36f0f049e6f97e88c510b15f65d up to, but not including, 894d9c7aab68fd0c70c78b1d03c8fa589fb0f67d; 6946c726c3f4c36f0f049e6f97e88c510b15f65d up to, but not including, 8bde3e395a85017f12af2b0ba5c3684f5af9c006; 5.10.248 up to, but not including, 5.10.252; and 5 more ranges05112ba67c824ab416cd54307c0b50aba9f0047a, efd68429f23fb4015b0ebc2392334059e06fad18, f448acd86835a650f9ea83460b9ca347d3aafba5, 914b47c9b824d3d74f31c764163edf93302100b1, 14a38784e09aebc21207dc32fffa05247fc3dd64, 894d9c7aab68fd0c70c78b1d03c8fa589fb0f67d
LinuxLinux Kernel5.10.248 up to, but not including, 5.10.252; 6.1.160 up to, but not including, 6.1.165; 6.6.120 up to, but not including, 6.6.128; 6.12.64 up to, but not including, 6.12.75; 6.18.3 up to, but not including, 6.18.14; 6.19.1 up to, but not including, 6.19.4; 6.195.10.252, 6.1.165, 6.6.128, 6.12.75, 6.18.14, 6.19.4

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector
LocalThe attacker needs local access or must trick a user into running something.
Attack complexity
LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
Privileges required
LowA basic user account is enough.
User interaction
NoneNo action by a victim is required.
Scope
UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
HighAll data handled by the component can be read.
Integrity
HighData or code can be modified at will.
Availability
HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Revert "hwmon: (ibmpex) fix use-after-free in high/low store" This reverts commit 6946c726c3f4c36f0f049e6f97e88c510b15f65d. Jean Delvare points out that the patch does not completely fix the reported problem, that it in fact introduces a (new) race condition, and that it may actually not be needed in the first place. Various AI reviews agree. Specific and relevant AI feedback: " This reordering sets the driver data to NULL before removing the sensor attributes in the loop below. ibmpex_show_sensor() retrieves this driver data via dev_get_drvdata() but does not check if it is NULL before dereferencing it to access data->sensors[]. If a userspace process reads a sensor file (like temp1_input) while this delete function is running, could it race with the dev_set_drvdata(..., NULL) call here and crash in ibmpex_show_sensor()? Would it be safer to keep the original order where device_remove_file() is called before clearing the driver data? device_remove_file() should wait for any active sysfs callbacks to complete, which might already prevent the use-after-free this patch intends to fix. " Revert the offending patch. If it can be shown that the originally reported alleged race condition does indeed exist, it can always be re-introduced with a complete fix.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Use After Free

The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • When freeing pointers, be sure to set them to NULL once they are freed. However, the utilization of multiple or complex data structures may lower the usefulness of this strategy.

More Use After Free vulnerabilities (CWE-416)

Timeline

  1. CVE record published.
  2. Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

Recent Use After Free vulnerabilities

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