Revert "media: v4l2-dev: fix error handling in __video_register_device()"
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 3 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: Revert "media: v4l2-dev: fix error handling in __video_register_device()" This reverts commit 2a934fdb01db6458288fc9386d3d8ceba6dd551a. The intentions of that patch were good, but it doesn't work. The idea is that if device_register fails, you have to do a put_device to let the ref counter release resources. However, the V4L2 API says that if video_register_device() fails, then you have to call video_device_release(), which kfree()s the video_device struct. But the put_device() will already have freed the struct, so you end up in a double-free scenario. There is not really a good way of fixing this without breaking video_register_device() into two parts, one that initializes everything, and one that does the actual device_register, and then converting all V4L2 drivers to this new model. That is a massive job, and it is very unlikely that device_register will fail. So rather than ending up in a double-free scenario, just revert this patch, and in that case we'll have a small memory leak. Which is a lot more robust.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 5.10.239 to before 5.10.270; 5.15.186 to before 5.15.221; 6.1.142 to before 6.1.188; 6.6.95 to before 6.6.157; 6.12.35 to before 6.12.109; 5.4.295 to before 5.5; 6.15.4 to before 6.16 | 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 5.5, 6.16 | Patch available | CNA |
| Linux | Linux | 6.16 and later | 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 5.10.239 to before 5.10.270; 5.15.186 to before 5.15.221; 6.1.142 to before 6.1.188; 6.6.95 to before 6.6.157; 6.12.35 to before 6.12.109; 5.4.295 to before 5.5; 6.15.4 to before 6.16 Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 5.5, 6.16 Patch available CNA
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 6.16 and later Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 5.5, 6.16
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.109, 6.18.50, 7.2.4, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet: Fix deferred |
Not affected: 5 products
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-89741
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-x4c4-qfr2-c3vv
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 CVSS score changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-29 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-11-06 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b998c171ed875e402e1fd1c5cd619e4ca05e9c1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3de14b4f681a1b3c6d375d98d9d37a55ebb85349
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8027f82c0f5474ed72448e160ee9778051fa1f49
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ac009a65d2385e9f0799eaf9d9694a29153a161
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/712ca1cf756de2557a116e0df55791bac0c9f99e
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/aad08b5f67d2a8116e1a00bce2611c1513b10bce
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce792b94e03882108019ba996c1a7c4d4e09be2c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e7600f5cee5de14065f950807931d6e6d40fb2d7
More Linux vulnerabilities
- TI-2025-26358 tls: fix handling of zero-length records on the rx_list KEVCVSS 3.1CRITICAL 9.8
- TI-2026-38352 netfilter: bridge: make ebt_snat ARP rewrite writable KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2021-02452 Incorrect authorization in Ubuntu linux kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2013-05264 The (1) get_user and (2) put_user API functions in the Linux kernel before 3.5.5 on the… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.8
- TI-2022-00125 Integer overflow in kernel KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
- TI-2013-01864 The perf_swevent_init function in kernel/events/core.c in the Linux kernel before 3.8.9… KEVCVSS 3.1HIGH 8.4
Sources
- CVE-2026-89741 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-89741 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-x4c4-qfr2-c3vv · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-89741 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences