CVE-2026-31584
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: mediatek: vcodec: fix use-after-free in encoder release path The fops_vcodec_release() function frees the context structure (ctx) without first cancelling any pending or running work in ctx->encode_work. This creates a race window where the workqueue handler (mtk_venc_worker) may still be accessing the context memory after it has been freed. Race condition: CPU 0 (release path) CPU 1 (workqueue) --------------------- ------------------ fops_vcodec_release() v4l2_m2m_ctx_release() v4l2_m2m_cancel_job() // waits for m2m job "done" mtk_venc_worker() v4l2_m2m_job_finish() // m2m job "done" // BUT worker still running! // post-job_finish access: other ctx dereferences // UAF if ctx already freed // returns (job "done") kfree(ctx) // ctx freed Root cause: The v4l2_m2m_ctx_release() only waits for the m2m job lifecycle (via TRANS_RUNNING flag), not the workqueue lifecycle. After v4l2_m2m_job_finish() is called, the m2m framework considers the job complete and v4l2_m2m_ctx_release() returns, but the worker function continues executing and may still access ctx. The work is queued during encode operations via: queue_work(ctx->dev->encode_workqueue, &ctx->encode_work) The worker function accesses ctx->m2m_ctx, ctx->dev, and other ctx fields even after calling v4l2_m2m_job_finish(). This vulnerability was confirmed with KASAN by running an instrumented test module that widens the post-job_finish race window. KASAN detected: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in mtk_venc_worker+0x159/0x180 Read of size 4 at addr ffff88800326e000 by task kworker/u8:0/12 Workqueue: mtk_vcodec_enc_wq mtk_venc_worker Allocated by task 47: __kasan_kmalloc+0x7f/0x90 fops_vcodec_open+0x85/0x1a0 Freed by task 47: __kasan_slab_free+0x43/0x70 kfree+0xee/0x3a0 fops_vcodec_release+0xb7/0x190 Fix this by calling cancel_work_sync(&ctx->encode_work) before kfree(ctx). This ensures the workqueue handler is both cancelled (if pending) and synchronized (waits for any running handler to complete) before the context is freed. Placement rationale: The fix is placed after v4l2_ctrl_handler_free() and before list_del_init(&ctx->list). At this point, all m2m operations are done (v4l2_m2m_ctx_release() has returned), and we need to ensure the workqueue is synchronized before removing ctx from the list and freeing it. Note: The open error path does NOT need cancel_work_sync() because INIT_WORK() only initializes the work structure - it does not schedule it. Work is only scheduled later during device_run() operations.
EPSS 0.02% · 3.0th percentile
Risk Scores
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| linux | linux_kernel | 0, 0, 0 |
| Linux | Linux | 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2, 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 |
Timeline
- Apr 24, 2026 CVE Published
- Apr 24, 2026 Security Advisory
- Apr 27, 2026 CVE Updated
- May 18, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 19, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 20, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 21, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 22, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 23, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 24, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 25, 2026 EPSS Score
- May 26, 2026 EPSS Score
References
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a8a55913552aed45108525d1851c65e1db0cc25b url
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f99353cd0e9f58bf17889049137b8d65fb44ebf1 url
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/93d9a58961a9e09306857e999b3ee76aa4be67f0 url
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f1692337c6fa26e04f89b22a4d84bf5b7ada50d1 url
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31584 advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2026/msg00154.html advisory
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-security-announce/2026/msg00148.html advisory