Kernel memory corruption via stale ACPI EC handler
Published Apr 13, 2026 · Updated Apr 13, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux Kernel ACPI EC driver allows local users to trigger kernel memory corruption through an unprivileged sysfs read. When ec_install_handlers returns EPROBE_DEFER, acpi_ec_setup omits cleanup and acpi_ec_add frees the EC context still registered with ACPICA. Reduced-hardware EC platforms with a deferred GPIO IRQ provider are exposed; later AML access to an EC OpRegion dereferences the stale context, causing a kernel crash or memory corruption.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux Kernel ACPI EC driver allows local users to trigger kernel memory corruption through an unprivileged sysfs read. When ec_install_handlers returns EPROBE_DEFER, acpi_ec_setup omits cleanup and acpi_ec_add frees the EC context still registered with ACPICA. Reduced-hardware EC platforms with a deferred GPIO IRQ provider are exposed; later AML access to an EC OpRegion dereferences the stale context, causing a kernel crash or memory corruption.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31426
- Published
- Apr 13, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 13, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1499
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 13, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 13, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=03e9a0e05739cf872fee494b06c75c0469704a21 <022d1727f33ff90b3e1775125264e3023901952e
- Affected versionversion=03e9a0e05739cf872fee494b06c75c0469704a21 <808c0f156f48d5b8ca34088cbbfba8444e606cbc
- Affected versionversion=03e9a0e05739cf872fee494b06c75c0469704a21 <9c886e63b69658959633937e3acb7ca8addf7499
- Affected versionversion=03e9a0e05739cf872fee494b06c75c0469704a21 <be1a827e15991e874e0d5222d0ea5fdad01960fe
- Affected versionversion=03e9a0e05739cf872fee494b06c75c0469704a21 <d04c007047c88158141d9bd5eac761cdadd3782c
- Affected versionversion=03e9a0e05739cf872fee494b06c75c0469704a21 <f6484cadbcaf26b5844b51bd7307a663dda48ef6
- Affected versionversion=5.7
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo