CVE-2024-36940: pinctrl: core: delete incorrect free in pinctrl_enable()

Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2024-05-30 · updated 2026-10-15
Weakness: CWE-415

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: pinctrl: core: delete incorrect free in pinctrl_enable() The "pctldev" struct is allocated in devm_pinctrl_register_and_init(). It's a devm_ managed pointer that is freed by devm_pinctrl_dev_release(), so freeing it in pinctrl_enable() will lead to a double free. The devm_pinctrl_dev_release() function frees the pindescs and destroys the mutex as well.

Affected products

Debian Linux: 10.0
Linux kernel: from 4.11 before 4.19.314; from 4.20 before 5.4.276; from 5.5 before 5.10.217; from 5.11 before 5.15.159; from 5.16 before 6.1.91; from 6.2 before 6.6.31 — fixed in 4.19.314, 5.10.217, 5.15.159, 5.4.276, 6.1.91, 6.6.31

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 4.19.314, 5.10.217, 5.15.159, 5.4.276. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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