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CVE-2026-74519
pinctrl: devicetree: don't free uninitialized dev_name on error path
Published 2026-08-15 (2 months ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/pinctrl. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.
What to do, per Debian release
Debian's own status for CVE-2026-74519 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source
| Release | Status | Version | What this means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 12bookworm | fixedDLA-4777-1 · 2026-09-08 · text | 6.1.187-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4777-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-08, in 6.1.187-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 13trixie | fixedDSA-6466-1 · 2026-08-25 · text | 6.12.105-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6466-1 shipped the fix on 2026-08-25, in 6.12.105-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 14forky | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian unstablesid | fixed | 7.1.8-1 | Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.1.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
| Debian 12bookworm · linux-6.12 | fixedDLA-4788-1 · 2026-09-19 · text | 6.12.107-1~deb12u1 | Update the kernel and reboot. DLA-4788-1 shipped the fix on 2026-09-19, in 6.12.107-1~deb12u1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts. |
The vulnerability
What the bug is
dt_remember_or_free_map() duplicates dev_name for each map entry. If kstrdup_const() fails, dt_free_map() frees dev_name in all num_maps entries, including entries that have not been initialized. Some pinctrl drivers, including pinctrl-imx, allocate the map with kmalloc() and leave dev_name for the core to initialize. The untouched entries therefore contain uninitialized data which is passed to kfree_const(). Reproduced on qemu's mcimx6ul-evk (pinctrl-imx) with failslab injection while binding the pinctrl-consuming device, under KASAN: BUG: KASAN: double-free in dt_free_map+0x34/0xa4 Free of addr c425a900 by task init/1 kfree from dt_free_map+0x34/0xa4 dt_free_map from dt_remember_or_free_map+0x184/0x198 dt_remember_or_free_map from pinctrl_dt_to_map+0x33c/0x4c8 pinctrl_dt_to_map from create_pinctrl+0x9c/0x5c0 Initialize all dev_name fields to NULL before duplicating the device name, making the full-map cleanup safe after a partial failure.
Where it lives
The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.
drivers/pinctrl/devicetree.c
- What this is
- PIN CONTROL SUBSYSTEMMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/pinctrl/ · linux-gpio@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Check it on the machine
grep -wE 'CONFIG_OF|CONFIG_PINCTRL' /boot/config-$(uname -r)Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.
Show whether Debian builds this, per release
Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.
- bookwormYnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, i386/686-pae, i386/rt/686-pae, ppc64el/powerpc64le
- trixieYnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, s390x/s390x
- forky, sidYnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt-amd64, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, s390x/s390x
- bookworm · linux-6.12Ynot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k
- Y
- built in where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
- Build switches
- CONFIG_OF, CONFIG_PINCTRL
- Reads as
- all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.
From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages
Signals
- Published
- 2026-08-15 (2 months ago)source
- CVSS
- 7.8 high
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:Hsource recompute it - Attack vector
- local (AV:L)source
- EPSS
- 0.15%, higher than 3.4% of all CVEssource
- CISA KEV
- not listedthe KEV catalogue
- Debian urgency
- not yet assignedsource
- Subsystem
- drivers/pinctrl
Upstream fixes
The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source
| Introduced | Fixed in | Commit |
|---|---|---|
| 5.5 | 5.10.265 | e3cfb22bad36 |
| 5.5 | 5.15.216 | 1586423da273 |
| 5.5 | 6.1.183 | dec5f0a80805 |
| 5.5 | 6.6.151 | 929f6396baad |
| 5.5 | 6.12.103 | 321fe3584a82 |
| 5.5 | 6.18.44 | ad0ad3c228b6 |
| 5.5 | 7.1.8 | 9d00a5ac7cd3 |
| 5.5 | 7.2 | 015b5bcbcb62 |
| 4.4.244 | 0 | 0 |
| 4.9.244 | 0 | 0 |
| 4.14.161 | 0 | 0 |
| 4.19.92 | 0 | 0 |
| 5.4.7 | 0 | 0 |
Debian advisories
| Advisory | Date | Shipped to | Debian |
|---|---|---|---|
| DLA-4788-1 | 2026-09-19 | bookworm 6.12.107-1~deb12u1 | tracker |
| DLA-4777-1 | 2026-09-08 | bookworm 6.1.187-1 | tracker |
| DSA-6466-1 | 2026-08-25 | trixie 6.12.105-1 | tracker |
Why the CNA scored it this way
Quoted from the kernel CNA's own scoring file, word for word. A highlighted metric carries the most severe value CVSS v3.1 defines for it, which is what pushes the score up. source
- AV:LAttack vector, local
- The bug is reached only through local device driver probe/binding (really_probe -> pinctrl_bind_pins -> devm_pinctrl_get -> create_pinctrl -> pinctrl_dt_to_map -> dt_remember_or_free_map); no network, Bluetooth, or remote protocol handler is on this path.
- AC:LAttack complexity, low
- Once a pinctrl-consuming imx/sunxi device probes or re-probes, an attacker can reliably force kstrdup_const() to fail with sustained memory pressure; the partial-init error path then deterministically calls dt_free_map() on all entries, as confirmed by failslab/KASAN reproduction.
- PR:LPrivileges required, low
- A local unprivileged account suffices to exhaust kernel memory during probe or deferred-probe retry; no CAP_SYS_ADMIN, module load, or DT overlay is strictly required beyond having affected OF hardware that binds pinctrl at boot or on automatic reprobe.
- UI:NUser interaction, none
- Exploitation executes autonomously during kernel driver initialization when allocation fails; no victim mount, file open, or other interactive action is needed.
- S:UScope, unchanged
- Double-free and heap corruption remain within kernel slab memory in the same security authority; this is a standard local kernel compromise path without VM escape, IOMMU bypass, or sandbox boundary crossing.
- C:HConfidentiality impact, high
- kfree_const() on uninitialized kmalloc map[i].dev_name values causes invalid or duplicate frees; KASAN reports double-free, and corrupted freelist/overlapping slab objects can be groomed into arbitrary kernel memory disclosure.
- I:HIntegrity impact, high
- Double-free and invalid kfree corrupt the SLUB freelist; attacker-controlled heap grooming can yield overlapping allocations and write primitives enabling control-flow hijack and arbitrary kernel code execution.
- A:HAvailability impact, high
- KASAN-confirmed double-free in dt_free_map during device bind causes kernel oops/panic; even without full exploitation the invalid kmem_cache_free reliably crashes the system on affected embedded imx/sunxi platforms.