In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
media: hackrf: fix to not free memory after the device is registered in hackrf_probe()
In hackrf driver, the following race condition occurs:
```
CPU0 CPU1
hackrf_probe()
kzalloc(); // alloc hackrf_dev
....
v4l2_device_register();
....
fd = sys_open("/path/to/dev"); // open hackrf fd
....
v4l2_device_unregister();
....
kfree(); // free hackrf_dev
....
sys_ioctl(fd, ...);
v4l2_ioctl();
video_is_registered() // UAF!!
....
sys_close(fd);
v4l2_release() // UAF!!
hackrf_video_release()
kfree(); // DFB!!
```
When a V4L2 or video device is unregistered, the device node is removed so
new open() calls are blocked.
However, file descriptors that are already open-and any in-flight I/O-do
not terminate immediately; they remain valid until the last reference is
dropped and the driver's release() is invoked.
Therefore, freeing device memory on the error path after hackrf_probe()
has registered dev it will lead to a race to use-after-free vuln, since
those already-open handles haven't been released yet.
And since release() free memory too, race to use-after-free and
double-free vuln occur.
To prevent this, if device is registered from probe(), it should be
modified to free memory only through release() rather than calling
kfree() directly.
media: hackrf: fix to not free memory after the device is registered in hackrf_probe()
In hackrf driver, the following race condition occurs:
```
CPU0 CPU1
hackrf_probe()
kzalloc(); // alloc hackrf_dev
....
v4l2_device_register();
....
fd = sys_open("/path/to/dev"); // open hackrf fd
....
v4l2_device_unregister();
....
kfree(); // free hackrf_dev
....
sys_ioctl(fd, ...);
v4l2_ioctl();
video_is_registered() // UAF!!
....
sys_close(fd);
v4l2_release() // UAF!!
hackrf_video_release()
kfree(); // DFB!!
```
When a V4L2 or video device is unregistered, the device node is removed so
new open() calls are blocked.
However, file descriptors that are already open-and any in-flight I/O-do
not terminate immediately; they remain valid until the last reference is
dropped and the driver's release() is invoked.
Therefore, freeing device memory on the error path after hackrf_probe()
has registered dev it will lead to a race to use-after-free vuln, since
those already-open handles haven't been released yet.
And since release() free memory too, race to use-after-free and
double-free vuln occur.
To prevent this, if device is registered from probe(), it should be
modified to free memory only through release() rather than calling
kfree() directly.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
|||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data.
Advisories
No advisories yet.
Fixes
Solution
No solution given by the vendor.
Workaround
No workaround given by the vendor.
References
History
Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:00:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: hackrf: fix to not free memory after the device is registered in hackrf_probe() In hackrf driver, the following race condition occurs: ``` CPU0 CPU1 hackrf_probe() kzalloc(); // alloc hackrf_dev .... v4l2_device_register(); .... fd = sys_open("/path/to/dev"); // open hackrf fd .... v4l2_device_unregister(); .... kfree(); // free hackrf_dev .... sys_ioctl(fd, ...); v4l2_ioctl(); video_is_registered() // UAF!! .... sys_close(fd); v4l2_release() // UAF!! hackrf_video_release() kfree(); // DFB!! ``` When a V4L2 or video device is unregistered, the device node is removed so new open() calls are blocked. However, file descriptors that are already open-and any in-flight I/O-do not terminate immediately; they remain valid until the last reference is dropped and the driver's release() is invoked. Therefore, freeing device memory on the error path after hackrf_probe() has registered dev it will lead to a race to use-after-free vuln, since those already-open handles haven't been released yet. And since release() free memory too, race to use-after-free and double-free vuln occur. To prevent this, if device is registered from probe(), it should be modified to free memory only through release() rather than calling kfree() directly. | |
| Title | media: hackrf: fix to not free memory after the device is registered in hackrf_probe() | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
Projects
Sign in to view the affected projects.
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-04-24T14:42:08.188Z
Reserved: 2026-03-09T15:48:24.119Z
Link: CVE-2026-31576
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Awaiting Analysis
Published: 2026-04-24T15:16:32.230
Modified: 2026-04-24T17:51:40.810
Link: CVE-2026-31576
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.