Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4 liveupdate liveupdate_flb_get_incoming use after free

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical was found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. The affected element is the function liveupdate_flb_get_incoming of the component liveupdate. Such manipulation leads to use after free. This vulnerability is listed as CVE-2026-80642. The attack may be performed from remote. There is no available exploit.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as very critical, has been found in Linux Kernel up to 7.1.4. Affected by this issue is the function liveupdate_flb_get_incoming of the component liveupdate. 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. CVE summarizes:

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: liveupdate: Reference count incoming FLB data Increment the incoming FLB refcount in liveupdate_flb_get_incoming() so that the FLB structure cannot be freed while the caller is actively using it. Add an additional liveupdate_flb_put_incoming() function so the caller can explicitly indicate when it is done using the FLB data. During a Live Update, a subsystem might need to hold onto the incoming File-Lifecycle-Bound (FLB) data for an extended period, such as during device enumeration. Incrementing the reference count guarantees that the data remains valid and accessible until the subsystem releases it, preventing future use-after-free bugs.

The advisory is available at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is handled as CVE-2026-80642 since 08/26/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be launched remotely. Technical details are known, but there is no available exploit. The structure of the vulnerability defines a possible price range of USD $5k-$25k at the moment (estimation calculated on 08/28/2026).

Upgrading to version 7.1.5 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 725ada0273a0f48a67fd59cc518d7f8055fe3d5c/d8e47bd066d7e626f9f45d416182d585b7e18b9b is able to eliminate this problem.

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 7.1.0
• 7.1.1
• 7.1.2
• 7.1.3
• 7.1.4

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

If you want to get best quality of vulnerability data, you may have to visit VulDB.

Discussion