Kernel crash via anonymous-buffer mutex use-after-free
Published Sep 16, 2026 · Updated Sep 16, 2026
Use-after-free in Linux 6.11's IIO anonymous-buffer release path allows local users to crash the kernel during device removal. The release path calls iio_device_put() while the buffer mutex guard remains active, so the final reference can free the mutex before it is unlocked. Exploitation requires access to an anonymous IIO buffer handle that retains the final device reference while the device is unbound or hot-unplugged.
Summary
What happened
Use-after-free in Linux 6.11's IIO anonymous-buffer release path allows local users to crash the kernel during device removal. The release path calls iio_device_put() while the buffer mutex guard remains active, so the final reference can free the mutex before it is unlocked. Exploitation requires access to an anonymous IIO buffer handle that retains the final device reference while the device is unbound or hot-unplugged.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-89942
- 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
- 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=3e26d9f08fbe0b73e951a5e810fdb7a332b7e37f <6288b593e76eb10329326f2cd51e32557203b9e5
- Affected versionversion=3e26d9f08fbe0b73e951a5e810fdb7a332b7e37f <6d4bdbf7bad63e759bf20259c527f69a1209e3dd
- Affected versionversion=3e26d9f08fbe0b73e951a5e810fdb7a332b7e37f <ab53077511cde811bf3ee219426c522329c41226
- Affected versionversion=3e26d9f08fbe0b73e951a5e810fdb7a332b7e37f <f1f8f0e8e0af9cae8150658dc7bb51332f984893
- Affected versionversion=6.11
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
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Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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