# CVE-2026-81008: interconnect: Fix use after free in icc_get() and of_icc_get_by_index()

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel interconnect subsystem allows attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code via crafted requests.

- **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:** 11 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-100307, BELL-CVE-2026-81008, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-81008, GHSA-3v62-228g-v2c5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-81008

## What is CVE-2026-81008?

CVE-2026-81008 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:

interconnect: Fix use after free in icc_get() and of_icc_get_by_index()

In of_icc_get_by_index() and icc_get(), if the dynamic allocation for
path->name fails via kasprintf(), the error handling path directly
calls kfree(path) to free the path object and returns an error.

However, prior to this point, path_find() calls path_init(), which
already links the path's requests into the req_list of the respective
interconnect nodes via hlist_add_head(). Directly invoking kfree(path)
leaves dangling pointers in the hlist. A subsequent call to icc_get()
or icc_set_bw() will traverse or modify these corrupted lists, triggering
a slab use afterfree.

KASAN report showing the vulnerability when reproducing via debugfs:

  BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in path_find+0x6f8/0xcfc
  Write of size 8 at addr fff000000d43f748 by task sh/1
  ...
  Call trace:
   kasan_report+0xac/0xfc
   path_find+0x6f8/0xcfc
   icc_get+0x148/0x380
   icc_get_set+0xf8/0x2d0
  ...
  Freed by task 1:
   kfree+0x1a0/0x4a4
   icc_get+0x2cc/0x380
   icc_get_set+0xf8/0x2d0

Fix this by replacing kfree(path) with the proper teardown function,
icc_put(path), which safely removes the requests from the req_list using
hlist_del() and drops the provider usage references before freeing the
memory.

Additionally, in icc_get(), ensure that the icc_lock mutex is released
prior to calling icc_put(path) to avoid a deadlock, as icc_put()
internally acquires the same lock.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-81008?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-81008?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-81008 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-81008 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-81008 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-81008 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-81008 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-2026-81008/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-81008/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-81008
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-81008
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-81008

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-81008/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.