CVE-2026-81004 ipmi:msghandler: Cancel work cleanly on an error
An attacker with local access could trigger a use-after-free in the Linux kernel IPMI driver during interface startup errors, potentially leading to code execution or system crash.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-81004?
CVE-2026-81004 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 11 Sep 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:
ipmi:msghandler: Cancel work cleanly on an error
If an error occurs during startup of an IPMI interface, it may have scheduled work to run. The work needs to be canceled before the interface can be freed.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-81004?
How do I fix CVE-2026-81004?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Upgrade to the fixed version. These bugs are found with fuzzing and sanitisers and avoided by memory-safe languages. More about Use after free.
Is CVE-2026-81004 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-81004 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as BELL-CVE-2026-81004, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-81004, GHSA-7w62-wjr5-jwfq, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-81004.