CVE-2026-53234
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ibm: emac: Fix use-after-free during device removal The driver was using devm_register_netdev() which causes unregister_netdev() to be deferred until the devres cleanup phase,…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.18%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: net: ibm: emac: Fix use-after-free during device removal The driver was using devm_register_netdev() which causes unregister_netdev() to be deferred until the devres cleanup phase, which runs after emac_remove() returns. This creates a use-after-free window where: 1. emac_remove() is called, which tears down hardware (cancels work, detaches modules, unregisters from MAL) 2. emac_remove() returns 3. devres cleanup runs and finally calls unregister_netdev() During step 3, the network stack might still process packets, triggering emac_irq(), emac_poll(), or other handlers that access now-freed hardware resources (dev->emacp, dev->mal, etc.). Fix this by replacing devm_register_netdev() with manual register_netdev() and calling unregister_netdev() at the beginning of emac_remove(), before any hardware teardown. This ensures the network device is fully stopped and unregistered before hardware resources are released. The change is safe because: - dev->ndev is assigned very early in probe (before any error paths that could bypass emac_remove) - platform_set_drvdata() is only called after successful registration, so emac_remove() only runs for fully registered devices - unregister_netdev() is idempotent and safe to call on any registered device
- CVSS 3.1
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- EPSS
- 0.18% probability · 8th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-416
- Affected
- linux/linux kernel
- Source
- 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0130d682222ae21afc395aead7cd2d87e1a8358Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c09c2e236eef6f59e105f38a30f5439e6ccbcad7Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c12584cd6078085d707266be864e7e1cc91d74e3Patch
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cf8e14db93eaecc4c0c58299be3b3183b0e53ed5Patch
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.