# CVE-2026-52982: net: usb: rtl8150: fix use-after-free in rtl8150_start_xmit()

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel rtl8150 USB driver allows attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code via crafted network traffic.

- **Severity:** Critical 9.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 24 Jun 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-52982, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-52982, GHSA-pjm2-h6fg-mfw7, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-52982, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-52982, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-52982, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-52982, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-52982

## What is CVE-2026-52982?

CVE-2026-52982 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

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

net: usb: rtl8150: fix use-after-free in rtl8150_start_xmit()

syzbot reported a KASAN slab-use-after-free read in rtl8150_start_xmit()
when accessing skb->len for tx statistics after usb_submit_urb() has
been called:

  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in rtl8150_start_xmit+0x71f/0x760
    drivers/net/usb/rtl8150.c:712
  Read of size 4 at addr ffff88810eb7a930 by task kworker/0:4/5226

The URB completion handler write_bulk_callback() frees the skb via
dev_kfree_skb_irq(dev->tx_skb). The URB may complete on another CPU
in softirq context before usb_submit_urb() returns in the submitter,
so by the time the submitter reads skb->len the skb has already been
queued to the per-CPU completion_queue and freed by net_tx_action():

  CPU A (xmit)                      CPU B (USB completion softirq)
  ------------                      ------------------------------
  dev->tx_skb = skb;
  usb_submit_urb()      --+
                          |-------> write_bulk_callback()
                          |           dev_kfree_skb_irq(dev->tx_skb)
                          |         net_tx_action()
                          |           napi_skb_cache_put()   <-- free
  netdev->stats.tx_bytes  |
    += skb->len;          <-- UAF read

Fix it by caching skb->len before submitting the URB and using the
cached value when updating the tx_bytes counter.

The pre-existing tx_bytes semantics are preserved: the counter tracks
the original frame length (skb->len), not the ETH_ZLEN/USB-alignment
padded "count" value that is handed to the device.  Changing that
would be a user-visible accounting change and is out of scope for
this UAF fix.

Weakness: CWE-416 (Use After Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-52982?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-52982?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-52982 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52982 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-2026-52982 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-52982 is a critical use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 24 Jun 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-52982 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-2026-52982/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52982/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-52982
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-52982
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-52982

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52982/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.