VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026Updated 21 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98855: Linux kernel · of/overlay: put property on deadprops only after changeset add succeeds

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98855

Not known to be exploited · fixed in d5151496a0a2b19c9c0c7b0ebf86b3de55a8fa3a : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 4% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in d5151496a0a2b19c9c0c7b0ebf86b3de55a8fa3a, 5857035a3b53a4e7b5a0d5a740189901ece0b079, 936f1ffcb87a1c50938a21176a6463af162cf4b5 +3

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 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.

ghsa-8wm5-mr28-c23r

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected >=4.19.49 <4.20	Fixed in d5151496a0a2b19c9c0c7b0ebf86b3de55a8fa3a 5857035a3b53a4e7b5a0d5a740189901ece0b079 936f1ffcb87a1c50938a21176a6463af162cf4b5 814f2da6995772c07a7c9c2cc6028b6e3f3ecc9c 7dc6a769153c0457077a0da4888a00f61e66de15 4.20
LinuxLinux	Affected =5.0	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix has been applied to the Linux kernel source code to correct the order of operations in handling overlay properties, preventing the double free. Users should update to the latest patched kernel version containing this fix. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's device tree overlay handling was resolved. The issue involved improper ordering when adding properties to a node's deadprops list, leading to a double free of a property pointer if adding the changeset property failed. The fix ensures the property is linked only after the changeset add operation succeeds, preventing double free errors.

Impact

The vulnerability can cause a double free of memory within the kernel, which may lead to kernel crashes or potential memory corruption. However, no known exploits in the wild have been reported. The impact is primarily stability and potential security risks related to memory management errors in the kernel.

Summary

The vulnerability in the Linux kernel relates to the function add_changeset_property() which links a new property of a not-yet-live target node into the node's deadprops list before calling of_changeset_add_property(). If of_changeset_add_property() fails, the property is freed but the pointer remains linked in deadprops, causing a double free when of_node_release() later frees the aborted overlay's node. The fix changes the order to record the changeset entry first and link the property into deadprops only upon success, eliminating the double free condition.

References

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