# CVE-2026-98218: i2c: atr: fix dangling adapter pointer on add failure

> A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's I2C ATR driver allows local attackers to cause denial of service or potentially execute code.

- **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:** 6 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-106197, BELL-CVE-2026-98218, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98218, GHSA-r8g8-p677-vvfc, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98218

## What is CVE-2026-98218?

CVE-2026-98218 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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:

i2c: atr: fix dangling adapter pointer on add failure

i2c_atr_add_adapter() stores atr->adapter[chan_id] before
i2c_add_adapter() so that the I2C bus notifier can match child clients
during registration. On failure the channel is freed but the slot was
left pointing at freed memory, which can lead to use-after-free in
i2c_atr_del_adapter() / cleanup and also block reuse with -EEXIST.

Clear the slot on the i2c_add_adapter() error path before freeing chan.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98218?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98218?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98218 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98218 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98218 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98218 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 6 Oct 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-2026-98218 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-2026-98218/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98218/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98218
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98218
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98218

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98218/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.