Use-after-free via leaked IRQ registration
Published Sep 11, 2026 · Updated Sep 11, 2026
Use-after-free in the NXP PIT clocksource driver in Linux 6.18 allows attackers to trigger stale IRQ handler access after initialization fails. The cpuhp_setup_state error path skips pit_clockevent_per_cpu_exit after request_irq succeeds, then frees pit while its address remains registered as the IRQ dev_id. Reachability requires CPU hotplug state setup to fail at that point and the retained IRQ to fire afterward, exposing the freed object to interrupt handling.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the NXP PIT clocksource driver in Linux 6.18 allows attackers to trigger stale IRQ handler access after initialization fails. The cpuhp_setup_state error path skips pit_clockevent_per_cpu_exit after request_irq succeeds, then frees pit while its address remains registered as the IRQ dev_id. Reachability requires CPU hotplug state setup to fail at that point and the retained IRQ to fire afterward, exposing the freed object to interrupt handling.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89769
- Published
- Sep 11, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 11, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- Unavailable
- Attack vector
- Unavailable
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 11, 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=bee33f22d7c30626e711b4900e3f460b6e0e104f <05520e035f8332c8e33f3011b5ca016fde61793d
- Affected versionversion=bee33f22d7c30626e711b4900e3f460b6e0e104f <cdcd861123248e871c2ec2be968b0a1b2a5a34b0
- Affected versionversion=bee33f22d7c30626e711b4900e3f460b6e0e104f <d53c29a89a15e56a1797f3ef249955e544782e04
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What is affected?
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Attacks
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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