Linux Kernel: Use-After-Free (CVE-2026-98748)
Published Last modified Sources: Debian LTS, BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org
What is affected, what to do
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_bcm7271: fix use-after-free in brcmuart_remove() brcmuart_handle_irq() starts priv->hrt to work around a receive-timeout quirk of the 8250 core when hardware flow control is enabled; the timer callback brcmuart_hrtimer_func() dereferences priv. brcmuart_remove() cancels the hrtimer before it unregisters the port, so a receive-timeout interrupt that arrives in between re-arms the timer. After devm frees priv, the callback runs on freed memory.
Update Linux Kernel to version 5.15.224, Linux Kernel to version 6.1.191, Linux Kernel to version 6.6.160.
- Affected
- Linux Kernel
lt 5.13..5.15.224 - Linux Kernel
lt 5.16..6.1.191 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.2..6.6.160 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.7..6.12.113 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.13..6.18.56 - Linux Kernel
lt 6.19..7.2.10
- Linux Kernel
- Fixed in
- Linux Kernel
5.15.224 - Linux Kernel
6.1.191 - Linux Kernel
6.6.160 - Linux Kernel
6.12.113 - Linux Kernel
6.18.56 - Linux Kernel
7.2.10 - Linux Kernel
7.3
- Linux Kernel
Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability
Metrics
4.1
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v3
4.1
CVSS v3
Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: Debian LTS, BSI, Msrc Update Guide, CVE.org
0.2 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 6.6
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Medium
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 50.85 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 4.1 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 4.1
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.2 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 6.6
- Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_bcm7271: fix use-after-free in brcmuart_remove() brcmuart_handle_irq() starts priv->hrt to work around a receive-timeout quirk of the 8250 core when hardware flow control is enabled; the timer callback brcmuart_hrtimer_func() dereferences priv. brcmuart_remove() cancels the hrtimer before it unregisters the port, so a receive-timeout interrupt that arrives in between re-arms the timer. After devm frees priv, the callback runs on freed memory. Unregister the port before cancelling the hrtimer. serial8250_unregister_port() shuts the port down and frees its IRQ, so brcmuart_handle_irq() can no longer restart the timer, and the final hrtimer_cancel() drains any timer that was armed before or during the unregister. This issue was found by an in-house static analysis tool.
Source: Debian LTS Advisories, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF, Microsoft Security Update Guide, cvelistv5, NVD (NIST)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux |
|
|
Vendors and products
Affected operating systems
| Linux | debian | linux-6.12 | bookworm |
References & sources
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/0794ba5332754866b2f1c0cca668775be3ffcf0a
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/189b9dc8c96ec9486482f27c1372b04a7152175e
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/e32440fa536af96bdbc61d933a7c3a920b965edc
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/f5ce06e648d775cc1ccf66f4f594bb8b559a7d8e
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/dd81650bec58ac70e5dfde2ec390acc1f0d1ed76
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/134d239558f2ac2602fad2392ec3e6d8d76af7d8
- git.kernel.orgstable/c/dad9fb86829ee96bbc6315d7209ceb24820ef889
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedLinux
Show 3 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98748.json">CVE-2026-98748</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/134d239558f2ac2602fad2392ec3e6d8d76af7d8Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dad9fb86829ee96bbc6315d7209ceb24820ef889Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedLinux
Show 2 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98748.json">CVE-2026-98748</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dd81650bec58ac70e5dfde2ec390acc1f0d1ed76Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Record modifiedLinux
1 individual change: Affected versions (publisher)
Show the original change
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —Affected value modified. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98748.json">CVE-2026-98748</a>Source identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
ReceivedLinux
Description added or changed
New references:Show 6 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Description added —In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: serial: 8250_bcm7271: fix use-after-free in brcmuart_remove() brcmuart_handle_irq() starts priv->hrt to work around a receive-timeout quirk of the 8250 core when hardware flow control is enabled; the timer callback brcmuart_hrtimer_func() dereferences priv. brcmuart_remove() cancels the hrtimer before it unregisters the port, so a receive-timeout interrupt that arrives in between re-arms the timer. After devm frees priv, the callback runs on freed memory. Unregister the port before cancelling the hrtimer. serial8250_unregister_port() shuts the port down and frees its IRQ, so brcmuart_handle_irq() can no longer restart the timer, and the final hrtimer_cancel() drains any timer that was armed before or during the unregister. This issue was found by an in-house static analysis tool.Affected versions (publisher) added —New affected value received. <a href="https://github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/blob/main/cves/2026/98xxx/CVE-2026-98748.json">CVE-2026-98748</a>Reference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0794ba5332754866b2f1c0cca668775be3ffcf0aReference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/189b9dc8c96ec9486482f27c1372b04a7152175eReference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e32440fa536af96bdbc61d933a7c3a920b965edcReference added —https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f5ce06e648d775cc1ccf66f4f594bb8b559a7d8eSource identifier: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67
Embed badge
Show the severity and KEV status of this vulnerability on your site – with a link back here. The image is updated hourly.
<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-98748"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-98748.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-98748 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>