# CVE-2026-68214: media: rtl2832: fix use-after-free in rtl2832_remove()

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel rtl2832 driver allows local attackers to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges via race conditions during device removal.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 10 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-68214, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-68214, GHSA-9rcq-4828-985w, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-68214

## What is CVE-2026-68214?

CVE-2026-68214 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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: rtl2832: fix use-after-free in rtl2832_remove()

cancel_delayed_work_sync() is called before i2c_mux_del_adapters()
in rtl2832_remove(). While the cancel waits for any running instance
of i2c_gate_work to finish, it does not prevent the timer from being
rescheduled by a concurrent thread.

During probe, the r820t_attach() call attempts I2C transfers through
the mux adapter. These transfers go through i2c_mux_master_xfer(),
which calls rtl2832_deselect() after the transfer completes,
rescheduling i2c_gate_work via schedule_delayed_work(). If this
transfer is still in flight when rtl2832_remove() runs,
rtl2832_deselect() can reschedule i2c_gate_work after it has been
cancelled, causing a use-after-free when kfree(dev) is called.

Fix this by calling i2c_mux_del_adapters() before
cancel_delayed_work_sync(). Once the mux adapter is unregistered, no
new I2C transfers can go through it, so rtl2832_deselect() can no
longer reschedule i2c_gate_work. The subsequent
cancel_delayed_work_sync() is then guaranteed to be final.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-68214?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-68214?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-68214 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-68214 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-68214 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-68214 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 10 Aug 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-2026-68214 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-2026-68214/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68214/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-68214
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-68214
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-68214

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-68214/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.