# CVE-2026-80678: i2c: imx: Fix slave registration race and error handling

> A race condition in the Linux kernel i2c imx driver can cause a NULL pointer dereference, leading to a denial of service.

- **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:** 28 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-98081, BELL-CVE-2026-80678, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-80678, GHSA-gjgg-c5pr-g266, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-80678

## What is CVE-2026-80678?

CVE-2026-80678 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:

i2c: imx: Fix slave registration race and error handling

In i2c_imx_reg_slave(), the slave pointer was assigned before
pm_runtime_resume_and_get().  If pm_runtime_resume_and_get() failed,
the error path returned without clearing i2c_imx->slave, leaving it
non-NULL and causing all subsequent registration attempts to fail
with -EBUSY.

Additionally, because this driver uses a shared IRQ, the interrupt
handler i2c_imx_isr() can execute concurrently and, after acquiring
slave_lock, dereference i2c_imx->slave.  The previous fix attempt
added a lockless i2c_imx->slave = NULL on the error path, but that
could race with the ISR under the lock and still cause a NULL pointer
dereference.

Fix both issues by deferring the assignment of i2c_imx->slave and
i2c_imx->last_slave_event to after a successful resume, and by
performing the assignment inside the slave_lock critical section.
This guarantees that the slave pointer is never left stale on the
error path and is always valid when observed by the interrupt handler.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-80678?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-80678?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-80678 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-80678 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-80678 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-80678 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-2026-80678 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-2026-80678/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80678/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-80678
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-80678
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-80678

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-80678/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.