CVE-2026-31583 media: em28xx: fix use-after-free in em28xx_v4l2_open()
A race condition in the em28xx video driver allows use-after-free and null dereference, potentially causing crashes or code execution.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-31583?
CVE-2026-31583 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Apr 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:
media: em28xx: fix use-after-free in em28xx_v4l2_open()
em28xx_v4l2_open() reads dev->v4l2 without holding dev->lock, creating a race with em28xx_v4l2_init()'s error path and em28xx_v4l2_fini(), both of which free the em28xx_v4l2 struct and set dev->v4l2 to NULL under dev->lock.
This race leads to two issues: - use-after-free in v4l2_fh_init() when accessing vdev->ctrl_handler, since the video_device is embedded in the freed em28xx_v4l2 struct. - NULL pointer dereference in em28xx_resolution_set() when accessing v4l2->norm, since dev->v4l2 has been set to NULL.
Fix this by moving the mutex_lock() before the dev->v4l2 read and adding a NULL check for dev->v4l2 under the lock.
Weakness: CWE-416
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-31583?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Linux kernel.
How do I fix CVE-2026-31583?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-31583 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-31583 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel
Sources
Also known as AZL-83666, BELL-CVE-2026-31583, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-31583, GHSA-2hvg-8mmr-f5mc, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-31583, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-31583 and 4 more.