In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: EDAC/altera: Drop __init from ECC setup paths for re-probe safety Sashiko… (CVE-2026-98740)

The vulnerability involves the EDAC/altera driver's ECC setup callbacks and helper functions in the Linux kernel, which were marked with the __init attribute. This attribute causes the functions' memory to be freed after initialization. However, due to deferred probe mechanisms (e.g., returning -EPROBE_DEFER) or manual unbind/rebind operations, these functions could be called after their memory was freed, resulting in use-after-free. The resolution was to drop the __init attribute from these functions so they remain resident and valid at runtime, preventing execution of freed memory.

The impact is a use-after-free condition in the Linux kernel's EDAC/altera driver that could lead to kernel instability or crashes if the freed __init memory is accessed during deferred probing or re-probing. There is no indication of known exploits in the wild or direct security compromise beyond potential kernel faults.

A fix has been implemented by removing the __init attribute from the affected ECC setup functions to ensure they remain valid at runtime. Users should update to a Linux kernel version that includes this fix. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.