Kernel crash via stale em28xx device-list entry
Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026
Use-after-free in the Linux em28xx driver allows physically proximate attackers to crash the kernel by disconnecting a dual-TS USB board. The audio-only probe path registers a duplicate secondary device in em28xx_devlist before dev_next exists, leaving its list node reachable after the secondary is freed. Exploitation requires the affected USB media-device path and peripheral disconnect; syzbot reports denial of service as exploitable but unprivileged triggering as unavailable.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in the Linux em28xx driver allows physically proximate attackers to crash the kernel by disconnecting a dual-TS USB board. The audio-only probe path registers a duplicate secondary device in em28xx_devlist before dev_next exists, leaving its list node reachable after the secondary is freed. Exploitation requires the affected USB media-device path and peripheral disconnect; syzbot reports denial of service as exploitable but unprivileged triggering as unavailable.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89892
- Published
- Sep 16, 2026
- Updated
- Sep 16, 2026
- Vendor
- The Linux Kernel Organization
- Product
- Linux
- Classifications
- T1200
- Attack vector
- physical
- Privileges
- Unavailable
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 16, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- 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.
- Affected versionversion=4.17
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <0da1e627f4fc9d0e947fdae90913042120878923
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <1abe9524dec0fd26e9ceb8d586034d6f68dd8273
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <4666197ca4f7d80cd3b0292054fe45d76be9ba04
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <4e11c45dfdc72ab656067b1df8fcebaf52fd4715
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <95f76f51937fdfb0fc1e14cae606b1ef574a56f3
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <d06067ee32620f272cfb80c7bc7c572ad4e74724
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <f8d7e77d9c621b42a191c67a9b37bec23dc1d555
- Affected versionversion=4a089668ef22c295ed4997289cc48446c849249c <f9322ac9f862961d7f377b87ec26c8565af7e073
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- syzbot C reproducer for em28xx_close_extension use-after-freeproof of concept · demonstrated
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
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