# CVE-2026-74519: pinctrl: devicetree: don't free uninitialized dev_name on error path

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel pinctrl subsystem allows local attackers to cause a system crash via double-free during device binding.

- **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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-96555, BELL-CVE-2026-74519, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74519, GHSA-63f7-w376-3432, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74519

## What is CVE-2026-74519?

CVE-2026-74519 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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:

pinctrl: devicetree: don't free uninitialized dev_name on error path

dt_remember_or_free_map() duplicates dev_name for each map entry. If
kstrdup_const() fails, dt_free_map() frees dev_name in all num_maps
entries, including entries that have not been initialized.

Some pinctrl drivers, including pinctrl-imx, allocate the map with
kmalloc() and leave dev_name for the core to initialize. The untouched
entries therefore contain uninitialized data which is passed to
kfree_const().

Reproduced on qemu's mcimx6ul-evk (pinctrl-imx) with failslab injection
while binding the pinctrl-consuming device, under KASAN:

  BUG: KASAN: double-free in dt_free_map+0x34/0xa4
  Free of addr c425a900 by task init/1
   kfree from dt_free_map+0x34/0xa4
   dt_free_map from dt_remember_or_free_map+0x184/0x198
   dt_remember_or_free_map from pinctrl_dt_to_map+0x33c/0x4c8
   pinctrl_dt_to_map from create_pinctrl+0x9c/0x5c0

Initialize all dev_name fields to NULL before duplicating the device
name, making the full-map cleanup safe after a partial failure.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74519?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74519?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74519 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74519 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74519 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74519 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 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-2026-74519 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-2026-74519/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74519/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74519
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74519
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74519

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74519/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.