CVE-2026-80642: liveupdate: Reference count incoming FLB data

Severity: unknown
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: 2026-08-28 · updated 2026-08-28

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: liveupdate: Reference count incoming FLB data Increment the incoming FLB refcount in liveupdate_flb_get_incoming() so that the FLB structure cannot be freed while the caller is actively using it. Add an additional liveupdate_flb_put_incoming() function so the caller can explicitly indicate when it is done using the FLB data. During a Live Update, a subsystem might need to hold onto the incoming File-Lifecycle-Bound (FLB) data for an extended period, such as during device enumeration. Incrementing the reference count guarantees that the data remains valid and accessible until the subsystem releases it, preventing future use-after-free bugs.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 7.0 — fixed in 7.2

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.2. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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