Use-After-Free Vulnerability in Linux Kernel Affecting TI's ICSSG PRU-ETH Ethernet Driver

CVE-2026-31501

What is CVE-2026-31501?

A vulnerability exists in the Linux kernel related to the TI ICSSG PRU-ETH Ethernet Driver, where a use-after-free condition can occur during packet processing. Specifically, when handling received packets, the system prematurely frees a descriptor linked to the passed data before all necessary operations are completed. This leads to potential dereferencing of invalid pointers, creating risks for memory corruption and undefined behavior. The issue arises in the emac_rx_packet() and emac_rx_packet_zc() functions. The fix involves deferring the descriptor's freeing action until all accesses to the data pointer are finalized, ensuring safe memory operations.

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