CVE-2026-98855 of/overlay: put property on deadprops only after changeset add succeeds
A use-after-free in the Linux kernel device tree overlay subsystem allows local attackers to cause a denial of service or potentially execute code.
- 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-2026-98855?
CVE-2026-98855 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:
of/overlay: put property on deadprops only after changeset add succeeds
add_changeset_property() links a new property of a not-yet-live target node into the node's deadprops list before handing it to of_changeset_add_property(). If that fails, the error path frees the property but leaves the freed pointer linked in deadprops, and of_node_release() frees it a second time when the aborted overlay's node is released.
Record the changeset entry first and link the property into deadprops only on success. of_changeset_add_property() never looks at the node's property lists, so the order of the two steps is otherwise immaterial, and the error path frees a property that nothing references.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98855?
How do I fix CVE-2026-98855?
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-2026-98855 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98855 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-109002, BELL-CVE-2026-98855, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98855, GHSA-8wm5-mr28-c23r, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98855.