GHSA-86VM-VP8G-7929
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-06-25 09:31 – Updated: 2026-06-25 09:31In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
net: ibm: emac: Fix use-after-free during device removal
The driver was using devm_register_netdev() which causes unregister_netdev() to be deferred until the devres cleanup phase, which runs after emac_remove() returns. This creates a use-after-free window where:
- emac_remove() is called, which tears down hardware (cancels work, detaches modules, unregisters from MAL)
- emac_remove() returns
- devres cleanup runs and finally calls unregister_netdev()
During step 3, the network stack might still process packets, triggering emac_irq(), emac_poll(), or other handlers that access now-freed hardware resources (dev->emacp, dev->mal, etc.).
Fix this by replacing devm_register_netdev() with manual register_netdev() and calling unregister_netdev() at the beginning of emac_remove(), before any hardware teardown. This ensures the network device is fully stopped and unregistered before hardware resources are released.
The change is safe because: - dev->ndev is assigned very early in probe (before any error paths that could bypass emac_remove) - platform_set_drvdata() is only called after successful registration, so emac_remove() only runs for fully registered devices - unregister_netdev() is idempotent and safe to call on any registered device
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-53234"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-06-25T09:16:41Z",
"severity": null
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nnet: ibm: emac: Fix use-after-free during device removal\n\nThe driver was using devm_register_netdev() which causes unregister_netdev()\nto be deferred until the devres cleanup phase, which runs after emac_remove()\nreturns. This creates a use-after-free window where:\n\n1. emac_remove() is called, which tears down hardware (cancels work, detaches\n modules, unregisters from MAL)\n2. emac_remove() returns\n3. devres cleanup runs and finally calls unregister_netdev()\n\nDuring step 3, the network stack might still process packets, triggering\nemac_irq(), emac_poll(), or other handlers that access now-freed hardware\nresources (dev-\u003eemacp, dev-\u003emal, etc.).\n\nFix this by replacing devm_register_netdev() with manual register_netdev()\nand calling unregister_netdev() at the beginning of emac_remove(), before\nany hardware teardown. This ensures the network device is fully stopped and\nunregistered before hardware resources are released.\n\nThe change is safe because:\n- dev-\u003endev is assigned very early in probe (before any error paths that\n could bypass emac_remove)\n- platform_set_drvdata() is only called after successful registration, so\n emac_remove() only runs for fully registered devices\n- unregister_netdev() is idempotent and safe to call on any registered device",
"id": "GHSA-86vm-vp8g-7929",
"modified": "2026-06-25T09:31:22Z",
"published": "2026-06-25T09:31:22Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-53234"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0130d682222ae21afc395aead7cd2d87e1a8358"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c09c2e236eef6f59e105f38a30f5439e6ccbcad7"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c12584cd6078085d707266be864e7e1cc91d74e3"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/cf8e14db93eaecc4c0c58299be3b3183b0e53ed5"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
Sightings
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