Linux Kernel up to 7.0.8/7.1-rc2 media iris_close use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability labeled as critical has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0.8/7.1-rc2. Impacted is the function iris_close of the component media. Executing a manipulation can lead to use after free. This vulnerability is tracked as CVE-2026-46210. No exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.0.8/7.1-rc2. It has been declared as critical. This vulnerability affects the function iris_close of the component media. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. The CWE definition for the vulnerability is CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. As an impact it is known to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: iris: fix use-after-free of fmt_src during MBPF check During concurrency testing, multiple instances can run in parallel, and each instance uses its own inst->lock while the core->lock protects the list of active instances. The race happens because these locks cover different scopes, inst->lock protects only the internals of a single instance, while the Macro Blocks Per Frame (MBPF) checker walks the core list under core->lock and reads fields like fmt_src->width and fmt_src->height. At the same time, iris_close() may free fmt_src and fmt_dst under inst->lock while the instance is still present in the core list. This allows a situation where the MBPF checker, still iterating through the core list, reaches an instance whose fmt_src was already freed by another thread and ends up dereferencing a dangling pointer, resulting in a use-after-free. This happens because the MBPF checker assumes that any instance in the core list is fully valid, but the freeing of fmt_src and fmt_dst without removing the instance from the core list is not correct. The correct ordering is to defer freeing fmt_src and fmt_dst until after the instance has been removed from the core list and all teardown under the core lock has completed, ensuring that no dangling pointers are ever exposed during MBPF checks.

The advisory is shared for download at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability was named CVE-2026-46210 since 05/13/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. There are known technical details, but no exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $5k-$25k (estimation calculated on 06/11/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.0.9 or 7.1-rc3 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 494ffd1712a588e590e6b1e9f876a8c8b24a9180/3d9593ad1a58c5acc3e5fa2a48222bb7632e6812 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-32837). VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.0.0
• 7.0.1
• 7.0.2
• 7.0.3
• 7.0.4
• 7.0.5
• 7.0.6
• 7.0.7
• 7.0.8
• 7.1-rc1
• 7.1-rc2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

CPE 2.3info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CPE 2.2info

• 🔒
• 🔒
• 🔒

CVSSv4info

CVSSv3info

CVSSv2info

Exploitinginfo

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Countermeasuresinfo

Timelineinfo

Sourcesinfo

Entryinfo

VulDB is the best source for vulnerability data and more expert information about this specific topic.

Discussion