CVE-2026-98840 affecting package kernel 6.6.157.1-1
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vc_screen: reload vc pointer before if (ret) in vcs_write() to avoid UAF The reload of 'vc' added by commit 8fb9ea65c9d1 ("vc_screen: reload load of struct vc_data pointer in vcs_write() to avoid UAF") sits after the 'if (ret)' block, so the copy-failure break path exits the loop without reloading vc. If the vc was kfree()'d via vc_port_destruct during the unlocked copy_from_user() window, the post-loop 'if (written && vc) vcs_scr_updated(vc)' is reached with a stale non-NULL vc. The '&& vc' guard from commit a287620312dc ("vc_screen: fix null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier() during concurrent vcs_write") only handles the NULL case, not this stale-non-NULL case; vcs_notifier() then reads param->vc->vc_num from freed memory: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in vcs_notifier+0x7c/0xd0 Read of size 2 at addr ffff888007149190 Call Trace: vcs_notifier+0x7c/0xd0 atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x70/0xa0 vcs_scr_updated+0x77/0xa0 vcs_write+0x71b/0x7e0 Allocated by task: vc_allocate -> con_install -> tty_open Freed by task: kfree <- vt_ioctl (VT_DISALLOCATE -> vc_port_destruct) Move the reload to immediately after console_lock(), before 'if (ret)', so every break path below passes a fresh vc to the post-loop vcs_scr_updated().
- Products
- kernel
- Affected versions
- Not specified
- Fixed versions
- Not specified
- CVEs
- CVE-2026-98840
- Confirmed fixed CVEs
- Not specified
- Updated in this feed
- 31 Oct 2026, 17:43 UTC · Revision 1
Source evidence
CVE-2026-98840 affecting package kernel 6.6.157.1-1
core-osv · Original sourcePublished 18 Oct 2026, 16:17 UTC
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vc_screen: reload vc pointer before if (ret) in vcs_write() to avoid UAF The reload of 'vc' added by commit 8fb9ea65c9d1 ("vc_screen: reload load of struct vc_data pointer in vcs_write() to avoid UAF") sits after the 'if (ret)' block, so the copy-failure break path exits the loop without reloading vc. If the vc was kfree()'d via vc_port_destruct during the unlocked copy_from_user() window, the post-loop 'if (written && vc) vcs_scr_updated(vc)' is reached with a stale non-NULL vc. The '&& vc' guard from commit a287620312dc ("vc_screen: fix null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier() during concurrent vcs_write") only handles the NULL case, not this stale-non-NULL case; vcs_notifier() then reads param->vc->vc_num from freed memory: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in vcs_notifier+0x7c/0xd0 Read of size 2 at addr ffff888007149190 Call Trace: vcs_notifier+0x7c/0xd0 atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x70/0xa0 vcs_scr_updated+0x77/0xa0 vcs_write+0x71b/0x7e0 Allocated by task: vc_allocate -> con_install -> tty_open Freed by task: kfree <- vt_ioctl (VT_DISALLOCATE -> vc_port_destruct) Move the reload to immediately after console_lock(), before 'if (ret)', so every break path below passes a fresh vc to the post-loop vcs_scr_updated().
osv:AZL-109056
kernel
Fixed versions: Not specified
Complete source record
{
"id": "62d6a4fc9eee3515ba88a83d9baf6fb85417696877419b7b6bbfc71fd5c79dfd",
"url": "https://osv.dev/vulnerability/AZL-109056",
"method": "structured",
"payload": {
"kind": "advisory",
"title": "CVE-2026-98840 affecting package kernel 6.6.157.1-1",
"summary": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: vc_screen: reload vc pointer before if (ret) in vcs_write() to avoid UAF The reload of 'vc' added by commit 8fb9ea65c9d1 (\"vc_screen: reload load of struct vc_data pointer in vcs_write() to avoid UAF\") sits after the 'if (ret)' block, so the copy-failure break path exits the loop without reloading vc. If the vc was kfree()'d via vc_port_destruct during the unlocked copy_from_user() window, the post-loop 'if (written && vc) vcs_scr_updated(vc)' is reached with a stale non-NULL vc. The '&& vc' guard from commit a287620312dc (\"vc_screen: fix null-ptr-deref in vcs_notifier() during concurrent vcs_write\") only handles the NULL case, not this stale-non-NULL case; vcs_notifier() then reads param->vc->vc_num from freed memory: BUG: KASAN: slab-use-after-free in vcs_notifier+0x7c/0xd0 Read of size 2 at addr ffff888007149190 Call Trace: vcs_notifier+0x7c/0xd0 atomic_notifier_call_chain+0x70/0xa0 vcs_scr_updated+0x77/0xa0 vcs_write+0x71b/0x7e0 Allocated by task: vc_allocate -> con_install -> tty_open Freed by task: kfree <- vt_ioctl (VT_DISALLOCATE -> vc_port_destruct) Move the reload to immediately after console_lock(), before 'if (ret)', so every break path below passes a fresh vc to the post-loop vcs_scr_updated().",
"evidence": "osv:AZL-109056",
"products": [
{
"name": {
"value": "kernel",
"evidence": "/affected/0/package/name"
},
"prerequisites": [],
"fixed_versions": [],
"affected_versions": []
}
],
"severity": "unknown",
"structured": {
"id": "AZL-109056",
"aliases": [
"AZL-109056"
],
"affected": [
{
"ranges": [
{
"type": "ECOSYSTEM",
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"last_affected": "6.6.157.1-1"
}
]
}
],
"package": {
"name": "kernel",
"purl": "pkg:rpm/azure-linux/kernel",
"ecosystem": "Azure Linux:3"
},
"database_specific": {
"source": "https://github.com/microsoft/AzureLinuxVulnerabilityData/blob/main/osv/AZL-109056.json"
}
}
],
"modified": "2026-10-22T05:35:55Z",
"provider": "osv",
"upstream": [
"CVE-2026-98840"
],
"references": [
"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98840"
]
},
"related_cves": [
{
"value": "CVE-2026-98840",
"evidence": "/upstream"
}
],
"security_relevant": true,
"severity_evidence": null
},
"source_id": "core-osv",
"document_id": 404458,
"published_at": "2026-10-18T16:17:38+00:00"
}