VulnerabilityPublished 16 Sep 2026Updated 20 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-89874: Linux kernel · media: v4l2-async: avoid deleting unlinked ASC entry on link error

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 16:39 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 10% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 16 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-5.5 – 7.0.0-38.38 23 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-aws`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1017.17 15 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fde`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1016.16 9 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcp`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14 13 affected builds	Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gke`pkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resolute`Other threats	Affected 7.0.0-1002.3 – 7.0.0-1008.9 6 affected builds	Fixed in–

Check your own hosts for these packages with threat-finder (opens in a new tab), our free open-source scanner.

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel to correct the error handling in v4l2_async_match_notify(). Users should apply the official kernel updates that include this fix. Since this is a kernel-level issue, updating to a patched kernel version is the recommended remediation.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's media subsystem (v4l2-async) could cause a NULL pointer dereference when handling link errors during ancillary media link creation. This occurs because the code attempts to delete a list entry that was never linked, leading to potential kernel instability. The issue has been resolved by correcting the error handling logic to avoid deleting unlinked entries.

Impact

This vulnerability can cause a NULL pointer dereference in the kernel, potentially leading to kernel crashes or instability when ancillary media link creation fails. There is no indication of privilege escalation or data corruption from the provided information.

Summary

The Linux kernel's v4l2_async_match_notify() function creates ancillary media links before adding the asc_subdev_entry to the sub-device's asc_list. If ancillary link creation fails, the error handling path erroneously calls list_del() on an unlinked asc_subdev_entry, which has NULL next and prev pointers, causing a NULL pointer dereference. The fix avoids deleting the asc_subdev_entry in this error path since it was never linked, preventing the dereference and stabilizing the error handling process.

References

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Exploitation evidence

What to do

Affected software

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 24 Oct 2026, 19:46 UTC

Technical details

References

Community reviews

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