Linux Kernel up to 6.12.94/6.18.37/7.1.2 I2C Core i2c_get_adapter use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.94/6.18.37/7.1.2 and classified as very critical. This issue affects the function i2c_get_adapter of the component I2C Core. This manipulation causes use after free. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-53400. It is possible to launch the attack on the local host. There is not any exploit available.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.12.94/6.18.37/7.1.2. It has been declared as very critical. Affected by this vulnerability is the function i2c_get_adapter of the component I2C Core. 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. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i2c: core: fix adapter registration race Adapters can be looked up based on their id using i2c_get_adapter() which takes a reference to the embedded struct device. Make sure that the adapter (including its struct device) has been initialised before adding it to the IDR to avoid accessing uninitialised data which could, for example, lead to NULL-pointer dereferences or use-after-free. Note that the i2c-dev chardev, which is registered from a bus notifier, currently uses i2c_get_adapter() so the adapter needs to be added to the IDR before registration.

It is possible to read the advisory at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is known as CVE-2026-53400 since 06/09/2026. The exploitation appears to be easy. Attacking locally is a requirement. Technical details of the vulnerability are known, but there is no available exploit. The pricing for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/19/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.12.95, 6.18.38, 7.1.3 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.12.0
• 6.12.1
• 6.12.2
• 6.12.3
• 6.12.4
• 6.12.5
• 6.12.6
• 6.12.7
• 6.12.8
• 6.12.9
• 6.12.10
• 6.12.11
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• 6.12.36
• 6.12.37
• 6.12.38
• 6.12.39
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• 6.12.80
• 6.12.81
• 6.12.82
• 6.12.83
• 6.12.84
• 6.12.85
• 6.12.86
• 6.12.87
• 6.12.88
• 6.12.89
• 6.12.90
• 6.12.91
• 6.12.92
• 6.12.93
• 6.12.94
• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.18.16
• 6.18.17
• 6.18.18
• 6.18.19
• 6.18.20
• 6.18.21
• 6.18.22
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• 6.18.24
• 6.18.25
• 6.18.26
• 6.18.27
• 6.18.28
• 6.18.29
• 6.18.30
• 6.18.31
• 6.18.32
• 6.18.33
• 6.18.34
• 6.18.35
• 6.18.36
• 6.18.37
• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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