# 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.

- **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-109002, BELL-CVE-2026-98855, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98855, GHSA-8wm5-mr28-c23r, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98855

## 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.

## Is CVE-2026-98855 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98855 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98855 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: 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.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98855 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-2026-98855/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98855/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98855
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98855
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98855

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98855/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.