# CVE-2026-74604: Revert "thermal/drivers/hwmon: Cleanup coding style a bit"

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel thermal driver allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges via the error path.

- **Severity:** High 8.4 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/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:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-97299, BELL-CVE-2026-74604, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74604, GHSA-qhg8-3wmw-3xjv, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74604

## What is CVE-2026-74604?

CVE-2026-74604 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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:

Revert "thermal/drivers/hwmon: Cleanup coding style a bit"

Revert commit 030a48b0f6ce ("thermal/drivers/hwmon: Cleanup coding style
a bit") that introduced a use-after-free into the error path of
thermal_add_hwmon_sysfs() by removing a valid check from it.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74604?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74604?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74604 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74604 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74604 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74604 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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-2026-74604 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-2026-74604/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74604/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74604
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74604
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74604

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74604/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.