# CVE-2026-64447: staging: media: ipu7: fix double-free and use-after-free in error paths

> A double-free and use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's IPU7 media driver allows attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code.

- **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:** 25 Jul 2026
- **Updated:** 17 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-64447, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64447, GHSA-q956-6h2r-2rpx, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64447, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64447

## What is CVE-2026-64447?

CVE-2026-64447 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 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:

staging: media: ipu7: fix double-free and use-after-free in error paths

In both ipu7_isys_init() and ipu7_psys_init(), pdata is allocated and
then passed to ipu7_bus_initialize_device(), which stores it in
adev->pdata. The ipu7_bus_release() function frees adev->pdata when the
device's reference count drops to zero.

Two error paths incorrectly call kfree(pdata) after the device teardown
has already freed it:

1. When ipu7_mmu_init() fails: put_device() is called, which drops the
   reference count to zero and triggers ipu7_bus_release() ->
   kfree(pdata). The subsequent kfree(pdata) is a double-free.

2. When ipu7_bus_add_device() fails: it calls auxiliary_device_uninit()
   internally, which calls put_device() -> ipu7_bus_release() ->
   kfree(pdata). The subsequent kfree(pdata) is again a double-free.

Note that the kfree(pdata) when ipu7_bus_initialize_device() itself
fails is correct, because in that case auxiliary_device_init() failed
and the release function was never set up, so pdata must be freed
manually.

Additionally, the error code was not saved before calling put_device(),
causing ERR_CAST() to dereference the already-freed adev pointer when
constructing the return value. Fix this by saving the error from
dev_err_probe() before put_device() and returning ERR_PTR() instead.

Remove the redundant kfree(pdata) calls and fix the use-after-free in
the return values of the two affected error paths.

Weakness: CWE-415 (Double Free)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64447?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-64447?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64447 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64447 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-2026-64447 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64447 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Jul 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-2026-64447 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-2026-64447/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64447/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64447
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64447
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64447

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64447/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.