CyberSecBulletin
CVE-2026-98154NVD status: Analyzed

Linux: Double Free

Published Updated By the CyberSecBulletin desk

CVE-2026-98154 is a high-severity double free vulnerability in Linux, with a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.0 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 ccf37fff526cab2d0e6ff2aaf35947f3cf62e5bb, c2459519b39587c9c27d6b8a8cf516fee10fce66, 965804b20c0f02c1a6cf4b69c0498a79e56f97fe 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 0.11% 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 ccf37fff526cab2d0e6ff2aaf35947f3cf62e5bb or c2459519b39587c9c27d6b8a8cf516fee10fce66 or 965804b20c0f02c1a6cf4b69c0498a79e56f97fe or a41e7fc8d244d9cfc6273051aed85b67adedbb89, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.
  2. Update Linux Kernel to 5.15.222 or 6.1.189 or 6.6.158 or 6.12.111, whichever matches your release line, or a later version.

Affected products and versions

VendorProductAffected versionsFixed in
LinuxLinux62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, ccf37fff526cab2d0e6ff2aaf35947f3cf62e5bb; 62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, c2459519b39587c9c27d6b8a8cf516fee10fce66; 62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, 965804b20c0f02c1a6cf4b69c0498a79e56f97fe; 62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, a41e7fc8d244d9cfc6273051aed85b67adedbb89; 62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, cf3e706963ffbd3ee2568fa0d08ab016f0575ea8; 62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, 171b993a4aed9889159df4815b6a6ba141e61975; 62eca39722fd997e3621fc903229917b9f0fb271 up to, but not including, d61828199c6cb4b76d48403c77023cd4bb9d09fc; 5.12ccf37fff526cab2d0e6ff2aaf35947f3cf62e5bb, c2459519b39587c9c27d6b8a8cf516fee10fce66, 965804b20c0f02c1a6cf4b69c0498a79e56f97fe, a41e7fc8d244d9cfc6273051aed85b67adedbb89, cf3e706963ffbd3ee2568fa0d08ab016f0575ea8, 171b993a4aed9889159df4815b6a6ba141e61975
LinuxLinux Kernel5.12 up to, but not including, 5.15.222; 6.1 up to, but not including, 6.1.189; 6.6 up to, but not including, 6.6.158; 6.12 up to, but not including, 6.12.111; 6.13 up to, but not including, 6.18.53; 7.2 up to, but not including, 7.2.7; 7.35.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, 7.2.7

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
HighSuccess depends on conditions outside the attacker's control.
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:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by CNA.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: nvme-rdma: fix -EIO cleanup order in queue_rq On -EIO, the RDMA queue_rq path reports a host path error and then still cleans up the command and unmaps the SQE DMA. The path error helper completes the request, so that is double cleanup and DMA unmap after the request is already complete. Unmap the SQE first, then report the host path error. Skip the outer command cleanup on that path.

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

The underlying weakness: Double Free

The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

How developers prevent this class of flaw

  • Choose a language that provides automatic memory management.
  • Ensure that each allocation is freed only once. After freeing a chunk, set the pointer to NULL to ensure the pointer cannot be freed again. In complicated error conditions, be sure that clean-up routines respect the state of allocation properly. If the language is object oriented, ensure that object destructors delete each chunk of memory only once.
  • Use a static analysis tool to find double free instances.

More Double Free vulnerabilities (CWE-415)

Timeline

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

References

Recent Double Free vulnerabilities

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