# CVE-2026-98826: rtc: ac100: Fix clock provider use-after-free on probe failure

> A use-after-free in the Linux kernel AC100 RTC driver allows local attackers to execute code or cause a denial of service via probe failure.

- **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:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-109260, BELL-CVE-2026-98826, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98826, GHSA-vm74-3mf5-j459, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98826

## What is CVE-2026-98826?

CVE-2026-98826 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:

rtc: ac100: Fix clock provider use-after-free on probe failure

ac100_rtc_register_clks() registers the RTC-32k clock with
clk_hw_register_fixed_rate() and the clock provider with
of_clk_add_hw_provider(). Neither is device managed, and both are
released only from ac100_rtc_remove(). The driver core does not call
remove() when probe() fails: really_probe() reaches probe_failed below
the device_remove() call and goes straight to releasing the device's
managed resources.

ac100_rtc_probe() ends with

	return devm_rtc_register_device(chip->rtc);

so if that fails after the clocks have been registered, the provider is
left on the global of_clk_providers list holding chip->clk_data, which
was allocated with devm_kzalloc() and is freed while probe() unwinds. A
later lookup on this device tree node then reads freed memory in
of_clk_hw_onecell_get(). Consumers that do exactly that exist in tree:
the wifi power sequence nodes on sun8i-a83t-bananapi-m3 and
sun8i-a83t-cubietruck-plus take <&ac100_rtc 1>, and the sun9i-a80 boards
route osc32k through <&ac100_rtc 0>. The window is narrow, as
devm_rtc_register_device() can only fail with -ENOMEM here, but the
provider is left dangling whenever it does.

The RTC-32k clock is leaked on the same path. Since clk_core_lookup()
searches a global list that is not scoped per device, __clk_register()
rejects the duplicate name with -EEXIST, so the leak also makes a later
probe of the same device fail.

The error path that returns -EINVAL when the ADDA 4M parent clock cannot
be found leaks the RTC-32k clock in the same way. No provider has been
registered at that point, so that one is a leak rather than a
use-after-free.

Register both with devm_clk_hw_register_fixed_rate() and
devm_of_clk_add_hw_provider() so that they are released whenever the
device goes away, on a failed probe as well as on unbind. Devres
releases in reverse order of acquisition, so the provider is removed
before chip->clk_data is freed, and the clkout children are now
unregistered before their parent rather than after it.
ac100_rtc_unregister_clks() and the remove callback then have nothing
left to do and are removed.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98826?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98826?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98826 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98826 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98826 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98826 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-2026-98826 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-2026-98826/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98826/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98826
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98826
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98826

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98826/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.