Use-after-free in Linux kernel - CVE-2026-97541
Published: September 28, 2026
Vulnerability identifier: #VU152664
CSH Severity: Low
CVSS v4: 0 [CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N]
CVE-ID: CVE-2026-97541
CWE-ID: CWE-416
Exploitation vector: Local access
Exploit availability:
No public exploit available
Vulnerability details
The vulnerability allows a local user to access freed memory.
The vulnerability exists due to a use-after-free in the ath9k_htc USB driver when handling a dynamically matched USB device. A local user can cause the driver to dereference a stored usb_device_id pointer after the probe operation has completed to access freed memory.
Affected software
Linux kernel
How to mitigate CVE-2026-97541
Install security update from vendor's repository.
Linux kernel - update to 7.0 rc3