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CVE-2026-98826

Linux: rtc: ac100: Fix clock provider use-after-free on probe failure

Linux LinuxOperating systems
CVSS
NoneNot scored
ExploitationNo known exploitationNot in CISA KEV, which does not prove it is unexploitedCISA KEV
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.20%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 9% of CVEs. Scored 23 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in12bcd20d76703ee2baf52224d287b7fea096b12fAlso 9cff19ddd7f90c1f572a0f83cfc41de8f8dcbcd8, 55ca60ba336632349f7c4585d22ba74ae355b7ceCVE List
Published18 Oct 2026Updated 19 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

  • 12bcd20d76703ee2baf52224d287b7fea096b12fLinuxCVE List
  • 9cff19ddd7f90c1f572a0f83cfc41de8f8dcbcd8LinuxCVE List
  • 55ca60ba336632349f7c4585d22ba74ae355b7ceLinuxCVE List

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

rtc: ac100: Fix clock provider use-after-free on probe failure

ac100_rtc_register_clks() registers the RTC-32k clock with clk_hw_register_fixed_rate() and the clock provider with of_clk_add_hw_provider(). Neither is device managed, and both are released only from ac100_rtc_remove(). The driver core does not call remove() when probe() fails: really_probe() reaches probe_failed below the device_remove() call and goes straight to releasing the device's managed resources.

ac100_rtc_probe() ends with

return devm_rtc_register_device(chip->rtc);

so if that fails after the clocks have been registered, the provider is left on the global of_clk_providers list holding chip->clk_data, which was allocated with devm_kzalloc() and is freed while probe() unwinds. A later lookup on this device tree node then reads freed memory in of_clk_hw_onecell_get(). Consumers that do exactly that exist in tree: the wifi power sequence nodes on sun8i-a83t-bananapi-m3 and sun8i-a83t-cubietruck-plus take <&ac100_rtc 1>, and the sun9i-a80 boards route osc32k through <&ac100_rtc 0>. The window is narrow, as devm_rtc_register_device() can only fail with -ENOMEM here, but the provider is left dangling whenever it does.

The RTC-32k clock is leaked on the same path. Since clk_core_lookup() searches a global list that is not scoped per device, __clk_register() rejects the duplicate name with -EEXIST, so the leak also makes a later probe of the same device fail.

The error path that returns -EINVAL when the ADDA 4M parent clock cannot be found leaks the RTC-32k clock in the same way. No provider has been registered at that point, so that one is a leak rather than a use-after-free.

Register both with devm_clk_hw_register_fixed_rate() and devm_of_clk_add_hw_provider() so that they are released whenever the device goes away, on a failed probe as well as on unbind. Devres releases in reverse order of acquisition, so the provider is removed before chip->clk_data is freed, and the clkout children are now unregistered before their parent rather than after it. ac100_rtc_unregister_clks() and the remove callback then have nothing left to do and are removed.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 10

  • Linuxaffected: d00a18a42c1483924de086ddfb0efe8da1dba3ac before 12bcd20d76703ee2baf52224d287b7fea096b12fCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: d00a18a42c1483924de086ddfb0efe8da1dba3ac before 9cff19ddd7f90c1f572a0f83cfc41de8f8dcbcd8CVE List
  • Linuxaffected: d00a18a42c1483924de086ddfb0efe8da1dba3ac before 55ca60ba336632349f7c4585d22ba74ae355b7ceCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: d00a18a42c1483924de086ddfb0efe8da1dba3ac before fcf0b58e976e83adf246b014518e49c662b96f5eCVE List
  • Linuxaffected: 4.9CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: all versions before 4.9CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.12.113 through 6.12.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 6.18.56 through 6.18.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.2.10 through 7.2.*CVE List
  • Linuxunaffected: 7.3CVE List

References 4