CVE-2026-89881

Kernel DMA memory leak via USB disconnect

Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026

Memory leak in the Linux rtl2832_sdr driver allows local users to retain kernel DMA memory by disconnecting a USB SDR during streaming. In rtl2832_sdr_remove(), the driver clears dev->udev before streaming teardown, causing usb_free_coherent() to skip live buffers and URBs. Reachability requires access to an active RTL2832U stream and device disconnection; each trigger leaves kernel allocations unreclaimed.

CVSS severityUnavailable
Unscored
EPSS probabilityUnavailable
No score available in this record
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Memory leak in the Linux rtl2832_sdr driver allows local users to retain kernel DMA memory by disconnecting a USB SDR during streaming. In rtl2832_sdr_remove(), the driver clears dev->udev before streaming teardown, causing usb_free_coherent() to skip live buffers and URBs. Reachability requires access to an active RTL2832U stream and device disconnection; each trigger leaves kernel allocations unreclaimed.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-89881
Published
Sep 16, 2026
Updated
Sep 16, 2026
Vendor
The Linux Kernel Organization
Product
Linux
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 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.

  1. Affected versionversion=3.15
  2. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <034b6a4f9589c04bc3f2bd5125658cd72d3e17c8
  3. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <053581d4657c6b5289c5de71a4828d313c005189
  4. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <0ef9f19010ae4ba93aca211ea8f0081b9bf7aab2
  5. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <234c46b95a032232e31fa5987b84fb8f87a9693b
  6. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <7443b16b6dd8889a3b9c5236a09e7c58f0d11dae
  7. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <a0d9d9a3b41a1346c26af57aade6ba3f552fa171
  8. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <bbf15e83c37d9ac938b7c35c02b748fe54230010
  9. Affected versionversion=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <dabb047c62668f280998e29117c55e41aabac336

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

The Linux Kernel Organization · Linuxversion=3.15; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <034b6a4f9589c04bc3f2bd5125658cd72d3e17c8; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <053581d4657c6b5289c5de71a4828d313c005189; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <0ef9f19010ae4ba93aca211ea8f0081b9bf7aab2; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <234c46b95a032232e31fa5987b84fb8f87a9693b; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <7443b16b6dd8889a3b9c5236a09e7c58f0d11dae; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <a0d9d9a3b41a1346c26af57aade6ba3f552fa171; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <bbf15e83c37d9ac938b7c35c02b748fe54230010; version=771138920eafa399f68d3492c8a75dfeea23474b <dabb047c62668f280998e29117c55e41aabac336

Published CVSS scores

No CVSS assessment is available in this record.

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.

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No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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

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Your stack

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