Use-After-Free Vulnerability in Linux Kernel HID Appletb Keyboard Driver

CVE-2026-46213

What is CVE-2026-46213?

A use-after-free vulnerability has been identified in the HID appletb keyboard driver within the Linux kernel. Failure to properly manage the inactivity timer during driver teardown can lead to memory safety issues. Specifically, if a backlight device is freed while still being referenced by a timer, it can result in accessing freed memory. This can be triggered through concurrent operations that manipulate the lifecycle of the backlight device. Enhanced synchronization measures are necessary to prevent the re-arming of the timer after the device has been freed, which is the root cause of the memory corruption.

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