Kernel use-after-free via concurrent V4L2 teardown
Published Apr 22, 2026 · Updated Apr 22, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux Kernel V4L2 request API allows local users to trigger stale request-object access through concurrent ioctl calls. The media_request_ioctl_reinit path and VIDIOC_REQBUFS(0) teardown perform request cleanup and vb2 queue cancellation without sharing req_queue_mutex, allowing the same request object to be freed while still in use. Access to a request-capable V4L2 device and low local privileges is required; the vendor reports use-after-free behavior but no specific crash or code-execution outcome.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux Kernel V4L2 request API allows local users to trigger stale request-object access through concurrent ioctl calls. The media_request_ioctl_reinit path and VIDIOC_REQBUFS(0) teardown perform request cleanup and vb2 queue cancellation without sharing req_queue_mutex, allowing the same request object to be freed while still in use. Access to a request-capable V4L2 device and low local privileges is required; the vendor reports use-after-free behavior but no specific crash or code-execution outcome.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-31473
- Published
- Apr 22, 2026
- Updated
- Apr 22, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- CWE-416, T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Apr 22, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Apr 22, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.20
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <1a0d9083c24fbd5d22f7100f09d11e4d696a5f01
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <2c685e99efb3b3bd2b78699fba6b1cf321975db0
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <331242998a7ade5c2f65e14988901614629f3db5
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <585fd9a2063dacce8b2820f675ef23d5d17434c5
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <72b9e81e0203f03c40f3adb457f55bd4c8eb112d
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <bef4f4a88b73e4cc550d25f665b8a9952af22773
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <cf2023e84f0888f96f4b65dc0804e7f3651969c1
- Affected versionversion=6093d3002eabd7c2913d97f1d1f4ce34b072acf9 <d8549a453d5bdc0a71de66ad47a1106703406a56
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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