Kernel memory corruption via deferred-work use-after-free
Published Jul 19, 2026 · Updated Jul 19, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux 6.18 through 7.0.11 allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through the zl3073x DPLL driver. During device teardown, change_work can be requeued after cancel_work_sync() and later dereference a freed or NULL dpll_dev pointer. Triggering requires CAP_NET_ADMIN access to DPLL generic netlink and timing concurrent SET requests against driver removal; consequences include kernel panic or privilege escalation.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux 6.18 through 7.0.11 allows local users to corrupt kernel memory through the zl3073x DPLL driver. During device teardown, change_work can be requeued after cancel_work_sync() and later dereference a freed or NULL dpll_dev pointer. Triggering requires CAP_NET_ADMIN access to DPLL generic netlink and timing concurrent SET requests against driver removal; consequences include kernel panic or privilege escalation.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-63977
- Published
- Jul 19, 2026
- Updated
- Jul 19, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux Kernel
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Jul 19, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Jul 19, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
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Is a vulnerable build present?
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- Affected versionversion=6.18
- Affected versionversion=9363b4837659d1b7ee04cfa714373ce4b4b8269f <d733f519f6443540f8359461a34e3b0042099bbe
- Affected versionversion=9363b4837659d1b7ee04cfa714373ce4b4b8269f <e7a33807fb3f87a855993474ac21684ce105927b
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What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
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Technologies
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Your stack
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