# CVE-2026-80677: driver core: use READ_ONCE() for dev->driver in dev_has_sync_state()

> A race condition in the Linux kernel driver core allows concurrent unbinding to cause a null pointer dereference, potentially leading to a system crash.

- **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:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-80677, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80677, GHSA-jprm-rcxh-4jgp, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80677

## What is CVE-2026-80677?

CVE-2026-80677 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 28 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:

driver core: use READ_ONCE() for dev->driver in dev_has_sync_state()

dev_has_sync_state() reads dev->driver twice without holding
device_lock() -- once for the NULL check and once to dereference
->sync_state. Some callers only hold device_links_write_lock, which
doesn't prevent a concurrent unbind from clearing dev->driver via
device_unbind_cleanup().

Fix it by reading dev->driver exactly once with READ_ONCE(), pairing
with the WRITE_ONCE() in device_set_driver().

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80677?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80677?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-80677 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80677 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80677 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80677 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 28 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-2026-80677 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-2026-80677/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80677/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80677
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80677
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80677

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80677/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.