# CVE-2026-97996: virtio: fix use-after-free in unregister_virtio_device() CVE-2026-97996 is fixed in 37 products on 1 platform, first by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97996, released September 29, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High. - Web page: https://patchblox.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-97996 - Priority: High - CVSS: 7.0 (IMPORTANT) - EPSS: 0.0017 - CISA KEV: not listed - Exploited (vendor report): no - Publicly disclosed: no - Published: Sep 25, 2026 - Vendor advisory: https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-97996 ## Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio: fix use-after-free in unregister_virtio_device() device_unregister() is device_del() plus put_device(). When the caller holds no extra reference, that drops the last one and runs the release callback, which for several transports frees the memory the embedded struct virtio_device sits in. unregister_virtio_device() then calls virtio_debug_device_exit(), which reads dev->debugfs_dir out of the freed object. Affected transports are the ones whose release callback frees and whose remove path takes no reference: virtio_mmio, virtio_vdpa, virtio_uml, mlxbf-tmfifo and virtio_ccw. virtio_pci is unaffected because virtio_pci_remove() brackets the call with get_device() and put_device(). Remove the debugfs entries before the device can go away. They are only accessed through the protected debugfs interface, so debugfs_remove_recursive() waits for in-progress file operations before returning. Tearing them down while the device is still alive is therefore safe. Reproduced on User-Mode Linux with CONFIG_KASAN and CONFIG_VIRTIO_DEBUG by unbinding a virtio-uml device: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in virtio_debug_device_exit+0x36/0x4d Read of size 8 at addr 00000000616e0b10 by task init/1 __asan_report_load8_noabort virtio_debug_device_exit+0x36/0x4d unregister_virtio_device+0x48/0x75 virtio_uml_remove platform_remove device_release_driver_internal unbind_store Freed by task 1: kfree virtio_uml_release_dev device_release kobject_put put_device device_unregister With this applied, the report is gone and unbind is clean. ## Where it's fixed | Platform | Product | Fixed in | Fix | Released | |---|---|---|---|---| | Linux | kernel-uek ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-core ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-core ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-core ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-core ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-devel ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-devel ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-core ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-core ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-deprecated ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-deprecated ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-desktop ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-desktop ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-extra ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-extra ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-extra-netfilter ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-extra-netfilter ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-usb ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-usb ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-wireless ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-debug-modules-wireless ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-devel ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-devel ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-doc ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-doc ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-core ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-core ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-deprecated ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-deprecated ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-desktop ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-desktop ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-extra ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-extra ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-extra-netfilter ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-extra-netfilter ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-usb ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-usb ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-wireless ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-modules-wireless ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-tools ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek-tools ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-core ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-core ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-devel ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-devel ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-core ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-core ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-deprecated ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-deprecated ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-desktop ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-desktop ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-extra ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-extra ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-extra-netfilter ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-extra-netfilter ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-usb ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-usb ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-wireless ol 10 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | kernel-uek64k-modules-wireless ol 9 | 0:6.12.0-207.111.5.1.el9uek | [ELSA-2026-500374](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/elsa-2026-500374.md) | Oct 7, 2026 | | Linux | linux Debian 13.5 (trixie) | 6.12.111-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97996](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97996.md) | Sep 29, 2026 | | Linux | linux Debian 14 | 7.2.7-1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97996](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97996.md) | Sep 29, 2026 | | Linux | linux-6.12 Debian 12.15 (bookworm) | 6.12.111-1~deb12u1 | [DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97996](https://patchblox.com/security/data/fix/linux/debian-cve-2026-97996.md) | Sep 29, 2026 | --- Data as of 2026-11-08T13:06:02Z UTC. 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