CVE-2026-93260 powerpc/xive: propagate IPI init errors to prevent use-after-free
A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's PowerPC XIVE interrupt controller allows attackers to potentially execute code or escalate privileges.
- 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-2026-93260?
CVE-2026-93260 is a high-severity use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 24 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:
powerpc/xive: propagate IPI init errors to prevent use-after-free
When xive_init_ipis() fails (e.g. irq_domain_alloc_irqs() fails), the error path frees the global xive_ipis array. However, xive_smp_probe() previously ignored this failure and proceeded to call xive_setup_cpu_ipi(), which dereferences the already-freed xive_ipis pointer -- a use-after-free.
Now that xive_smp_probe() returns int (previous patch), propagate the error from xive_init_ipis() and xive_setup_cpu_ipi() through xive_smp_probe(). Check the return value in both pnv_smp_probe() and pSeries_smp_probe() so that IPI setup is aborted cleanly on failure, avoiding the use-after-free.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-93260?
How do I fix CVE-2026-93260?
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-2026-93260 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-93260 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-103562, BELL-CVE-2026-93260, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-93260, GHSA-q6qm-qq42-2gwg, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-93260.