# CVE-2026-98766: usb: gadget: aspeed-vhub: cancel wake work on device removal

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel's Aspeed virtual hub driver allows attackers with physical or local access to execute code or crash the system via USB gadget 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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109023, BELL-CVE-2026-98766, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98766, GHSA-5m27-6x28-p9v6, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98766

## What is CVE-2026-98766?

CVE-2026-98766 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 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:

usb: gadget: aspeed-vhub: cancel wake work on device removal

wake_work is armed from the gadget .wakeup callback to resume suspended
downstream ports, and it is never cancelled in ast_vhub_remove(), so a
work item queued before or during removal can run after devm has freed
vhub and its ports, a use-after-free.

Cancelling the work alone is not sufficient: usb_gadget_wakeup() takes
no lock and the unbind path never clears wakeup_en, so a remote-wakeup
request in flight on another CPU can re-arm the work after the cancel
and before vhub is freed.

ast_vhub_del_dev() already clears d->registered under vhub->lock before
unregistering the gadget. Refuse the wakeup in ast_vhub_udc_wakeup()
once d->registered is clear: the check and the schedule_work() are then
atomic against the unbind, so a wakeup that passed before the flag was
cleared is drained by the cancel_work_sync() after the del_dev loop,
and one that arrives later returns without arming. Also move INIT_WORK()
to the top of ast_vhub_probe(), since the probe error path reuses
ast_vhub_remove() and would otherwise cancel a never-initialized work
item.

This issue was found by an in-house static analysis tool.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98766?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98766?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98766 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98766 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98766 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98766 is an use after free vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 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-2026-98766 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-2026-98766/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98766/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98766
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98766
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98766

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98766/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.