# CVE-2026-23096: uacce: fix cdev handling in the cleanup path

> A flaw in the Linux kernel uacce driver causes a system hang when device addition fails, leading to denial of service.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23096, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23096, GHSA-4975-8xmf-m3v3, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-23096, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-23096, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23096

## What is CVE-2026-23096?

CVE-2026-23096 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

uacce: fix cdev handling in the cleanup path

When cdev_device_add fails, it internally releases the cdev memory,
and if cdev_device_del is then executed, it will cause a hang error.
To fix it, we check the return value of cdev_device_add() and clear
uacce->cdev to avoid calling cdev_device_del in the uacce_remove.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23096?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23096?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23096 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23096 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-23096 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23096 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 4 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23096 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23096/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23096/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23096
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23096
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23096

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23096/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.