# CVE-2026-23162: drm/xe/nvm: Fix double-free on aux add failure

> A double-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Xe driver NVM initialization can cause a system crash during device setup.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 14 Feb 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-23162, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23162, GHSA-phfr-35gx-vf86, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-23162

## What is CVE-2026-23162?

CVE-2026-23162 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 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:

drm/xe/nvm: Fix double-free on aux add failure

After a successful auxiliary_device_init(), aux_dev->dev.release
(xe_nvm_release_dev()) is responsible for the kfree(nvm). When
there is failure with auxiliary_device_add(), driver will call
auxiliary_device_uninit(), which call put_device(). So that the
.release callback will be triggered to free the memory associated
with the auxiliary_device.

Move the kfree(nvm) into the auxiliary_device_init() failure path
and remove the err goto path to fix below error.

"
[   13.232905] ==================================================================
[   13.232911] BUG: KASAN: double-free in xe_nvm_init+0x751/0xf10 [xe]
[   13.233112] Free of addr ffff888120635000 by task systemd-udevd/273

[   13.233120] CPU: 8 UID: 0 PID: 273 Comm: systemd-udevd Not tainted 6.19.0-rc2-lgci-xe-kernel+ #225 PREEMPT(voluntary)
...
[   13.233125] Call Trace:
[   13.233126]  <TASK>
[   13.233127]  dump_stack_lvl+0x7f/0xc0
[   13.233132]  print_report+0xce/0x610
[   13.233136]  ? kasan_complete_mode_report_info+0x5d/0x1e0
[   13.233139]  ? xe_nvm_init+0x751/0xf10 [xe]
...
"

v2: drop err goto path. (Alexander)

(cherry picked from commit a3187c0c2bbd947ffff97f90d077ac88f9c2a215)

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23162?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-23162?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-23162 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23162 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-2026-23162 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-23162 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 14 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-2026-23162 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-2026-23162/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23162/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-23162
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-23162
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-23162

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-23162/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.