# CVE-2026-64469: binder: fix UAF in binder_thread_release()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel binder driver allows a use-after-free, potentially enabling local attackers to execute code or escalate privileges.

- **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-2026-64469, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-64469, GHSA-gqjw-3mh5-7pr5, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-64469, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-64469, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-64469

## What is CVE-2026-64469?

CVE-2026-64469 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, 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:

binder: fix UAF in binder_thread_release()

When a thread exits, binder_thread_release() walks its transaction stack
to clear the t->from and t->to_proc that correspond with the exiting
thread. However, a process dying in parallel might attempt to kfree some
of these transactions. And if one of them has no associated t->to_proc,
the t->to_proc->inner_lock will not be acquired.

This means that transaction accesses in binder_thread_release() after
t->to_proc has been cleared might race with binder_free_transaction()
and cause a use-after-free error as reported by KASAN:

  ==================================================================
  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in binder_thread_release+0x5d0/0x798
  Write of size 8 at addr ffff000016627500 by task X/715

  CPU: 17 UID: 0 PID: 715 Comm: X Not tainted 7.1.0-rc5-00149-g8fde5d1d47f6 #30 PREEMPT
  Hardware name: linux,dummy-virt (DT)
  Call trace:
   binder_thread_release+0x5d0/0x798
   binder_ioctl+0x12c0/0x299c
   [...]

  Allocated by task 717 on cpu 18 at 67.267803s:
   __kasan_kmalloc+0xa0/0xbc
   __kmalloc_cache_noprof+0x174/0x444
   binder_transaction+0x554/0x8150
   binder_thread_write+0xa30/0x4354
   binder_ioctl+0x20f0/0x299c
   [...]

  Freed by task 202 on cpu 18 at 90.416221s:
   __kasan_slab_free+0x58/0x80
   kfree+0x1a0/0x4a4
   binder_free_transaction+0x150/0x294
   binder_send_failed_reply+0x398/0x6d8
   binder_release_work+0x3e4/0x4ec
   binder_deferred_func+0xbd8/0x104c
   [...]
  ==================================================================

In order to avoid this, make sure that binder_free_transaction() reads
the t->to_proc under the transaction lock. This will serialize the
transaction release with the accesses in binder_thread_release(). Plus,
it matches the documented locking rules for @to_proc.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-64469?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-64469?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-64469 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-64469 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-64469 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-64469 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, 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-2026-64469 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-64469/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64469/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-64469
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-64469
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-64469

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-64469/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.