Use After Free in Linux
CVE-2026-23158
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: virtuser: fix UAF in configfs release path The gpio-virtuser configfs release path uses guard(mutex) to protect the device structure. However, the device is freed before the guard cleanup runs, causing mutex_unlock() to operate on freed memory. Specifically, gpio_virtuser_device_config_group_release() destroys the mutex and frees the device while still inside the guard(mutex) scope. When the function returns, the guard cleanup invokes mutex_unlock(&dev->lock), resulting in a slab use-after-free. Limit the mutex lifetime by using a scoped_guard() only around the activation check, so that the lock is released before mutex_destroy() and kfree() are called.
Vulnerability class: Use-After-Free
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.001 (1.6th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 1.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: +0.000
Affected products
- Linux — versions 91581c4b3f29e2e22aeb1a62e842d529ca638b2d, 6.11, 0
- Linux Kernel — versions 6.19
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-23158?
- CVE-2026-23158 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Use After Free. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2026-02-14.
- How severe is CVE-2026-23158?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.