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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2026-90336: Linux kernel · serial: core: clear freed pointers on uart_register_driver() failure

Affects Linux kernelSource GCVE Database

0
Authoritative record:CVE-2026-90336

Not known to be exploited.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 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

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 17 Sep 2026

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq 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.

What to do

Affected software

ProductAffectedFixed in
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinuxpkg:deb/ubuntu/linux?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-5.5 – 7.0.0-38.38
23 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-awspkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-aws?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14
15 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azurepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1017.17
15 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-azure-fdepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-azure-fde?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 7.0.0-1003.3 – 7.0.0-1016.16
9 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gcppkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gcp?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 6.17.0-1002.2 – 7.0.0-1014.14
13 affected builds
Fixed in–
Ubuntu 26.04 LTSlinux-gkepkg:deb/ubuntu/linux-gke?arch=source&distro=resoluteOther threatsAffected
  • 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 is available that clears the freed pointers on failure paths in uart_register_driver() and tty_register_driver(), preventing use-after-free conditions. Users should apply the official Linux kernel updates that include this patch. 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 serial core was resolved that involved pointers not being cleared on uart_register_driver() failure. Specifically, drv->state and drv->tty_driver pointers could remain pointing to freed memory after certain failures in driver registration, potentially causing subsequent driver probes to operate on invalid memory. This was identified through testing on QEMU's raspi1ap board. The fix clears these pointers on failure paths to prevent use-after-free conditions.

References

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