# CVE-2026-97995: virtio_console: do not free control-out buffers on remove

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel virtio_console driver allows local attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code during device removal.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 25 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-104289, BELL-CVE-2026-97995, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97995, GHSA-64xh-4w8v-x8v5, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97995

## What is CVE-2026-97995?

CVE-2026-97995 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 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:

virtio_console: do not free control-out buffers on remove

__send_control_msg() publishes &portdev->cpkt as the control-out
virtqueue cookie. remove_vqs() walks every virtqueue and passes leftover
cookies to free_buf(), which treats them as struct port_buffer and
reads sgpages.

If a control message is still on c_ovq when the device is unbound,
free_buf() reads past the ports_device object.

KASAN reported slab-out-of-bounds in free_buf():

	free_buf
	remove_vqs
	virtcons_remove
	unbind_store

The object was the ports_device allocated in virtcons_probe().

Drain c_ovq without freeing. The packet lives in portdev and is released
with it.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97995?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-97995?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-97995 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97995 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-97995 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-97995 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 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-2026-97995 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-2026-97995/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97995/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-97995
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-97995
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97995

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-97995/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.