Linux Kernel up to 7.1.3 hw-consumer iio_hw_buf_release use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.3. It has been classified as very critical. This affects the function iio_hw_buf_release of the component hw-consumer. The manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-64498. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.3 and classified as very critical. This issue affects the function iio_hw_buf_release of the component hw-consumer. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a use after free vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-416. Referencing memory after it has been freed can cause a program to crash, use unexpected values, or execute code. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: iio: buffer: hw-consumer: free scan_mask on buffer release The scan_mask lifetime changed in commit 9a2e1233d38c ("iio: buffer: hw-consumer: remove redundant scan_mask flexible array"). Before that change, the scan mask storage was embedded in struct hw_consumer_buffer, so iio_hw_buf_release() could free the whole allocation with a single kfree(hw_buf). That commit moved the scan mask to a separate bitmap_zalloc() allocation stored in buffer.scan_mask, but left iio_hw_buf_release() unchanged. Free the scan mask in iio_hw_buf_release() before freeing the buffer wrapper.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-64498 since 07/19/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 07/26/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.1.4 or 7.2-rc1 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch fb8e18f8ca724bd4de4643cad5b7c7230b9a5a71/6325d6e2204327965b849c0a16efb6ac9202e5a8 is able to eliminate this problem.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at EUVD (EUVD-2026-48842). Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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Entryinfo

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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