CVE-2026-89887 media: i2c: ov7740: fix use-after-destroy in remove
A use-after-free and double-free bug in the Linux kernel ov7740 camera driver can cause a kernel panic during device removal.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-89887?
CVE-2026-89887 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 16 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:
media: i2c: ov7740: fix use-after-destroy in remove
The ov7740_remove() function had a severe teardown order bug where it destroyed the driver's mutex before freeing the V4L2 control handler which relies on that mutex, leading to a use-after-destroy kernel panic. Furthermore, the driver explicitly called v4l2_ctrl_handler_free() and mutex_destroy() sequentially, but then called ov7740_free_controls() which invokes both of them a second time, resulting in a double-free.
This patch fixes the issue by unregistering the subdevice first, and relying exclusively on ov7740_free_controls() to safely tear down the mutex and control handler in the correct order.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-89887?
How do I fix CVE-2026-89887?
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-2026-89887 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-89887 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-101220, BELL-CVE-2026-89887, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-89887, GHSA-3687-g89h-mvw4, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-89887.