Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local device-node access (AV:L/PR:L); requires induced allocation failure plus a re-STREAMON race-like retry (AC:H); impact is DMA leak and wild free causing crash (A:H), minor integrity corruption (I:L), no real disclosure (C:N).
Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).
CVSS VectorVendor: Linux
Lifecycle Timeline
6DescriptionCVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
media: rtl2832_sdr: release URBs and stream buffers on start_streaming() failure
rtl2832_sdr_start_streaming() calls rtl2832_sdr_alloc_stream_bufs(), rtl2832_sdr_alloc_urbs() and rtl2832_sdr_submit_urbs() in sequence and shares a single err: label that only unlocks the mutex and returns. When alloc_urbs() succeeds but submit_urbs() fails, or when alloc_urbs() itself returns -ENOMEM after alloc_stream_bufs() has already succeeded, the URBs and/or the coherent DMA stream buffers stay allocated while streaming reports failure to vb2. Two latent defects follow on the next VIDIOC_STREAMON:
- rtl2832_sdr_alloc_stream_bufs() unconditionally resets dev->buf_num
to 0 and overwrites dev->buf_list[]/dev->dma_addr[], permanently leaking the coherent DMA memory allocated by the previous attempt.
- rtl2832_sdr_alloc_urbs() never resets dev->urbs_initialized and only
increments it. After a second successful pass urbs_initialized can exceed MAX_BULK_BUFS, so the subsequent rtl2832_sdr_free_urbs() walks from urbs_initialized - 1 down to 0 and reads past the end of dev->urb_list[], passing garbage pointers to usb_free_urb().
Mirror the teardown that stop_streaming() already performs: on the error path call rtl2832_sdr_free_urbs() and rtl2832_sdr_free_stream_bufs() before unlocking. Both helpers are idempotent (free_urbs kills and zeros urbs_initialized; free_stream_bufs is gated on URB_BUF and clears the buf_num counter), so partial-failure paths and the no-allocation paths remain safe.
Issue identified by automated review of the INV-003 series at https://sashiko.dev/
AnalysisAI
A missing error-path teardown in the Linux kernel's rtl2832_sdr SDR driver lets a local attacker with low privileges (PR:L) who can reach the V4L2/SDR device node for an RTL2832U-based USB dongle leak coherent DMA memory and trigger an out-of-bounds read/pass-garbage-pointer condition in USB URB cleanup. The defect only manifests when rtl2832_sdr_start_streaming() fails after allocation - realistically an induced -ENOMEM during alloc_stream_bufs()/alloc_urbs()/submit_urbs() - and is then followed by a second VIDIOC_STREAMON, which over-increments urbs_initialized past MAX_BULK_BUFS and causes rtl2832_sdr_free_urbs() to index beyond dev->urb_list[] before handing stale pointers to usb_free_urb(). …
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Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata
Vulnerability AssessmentAI
| Exploitation | Requires a physically-present or already-bound RTL2832U-based SDR USB dongle whose rtl2832_sdr driver is loaded, plus local access to the corresponding V4L2/SDR device node (PR:L). … Additional conditions and limiting factors are described in the full assessment. |
| Risk Assessment | This is a local, low-privilege memory-corruption/leak issue that is materially over-scored by the vendor. … Full risk analysis with EPSS, KEV, and SSVC signal comparison available after sign-in. |
| Exploit Scenario | Full exploit scenario with step-by-step reproduction available after sign-in. |
| Remediation | Vendor-released patch: update to the fixed stable kernel containing the rtl2832_sdr error-path teardown - Linux 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.51, 7.2.5 or 7.3-rc1 (or later), which correspond to the commit series at https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f14a713a36a5c87568430e9770896f2a8f5bbbb7, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c819dea3a433ae790b829443fdcc1715d1586560, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0337ab0759285076a3f9dcfcc40906e69ab519b3, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c91e8ae2b39c6da81f26f2c9877d3fd33a4465ce, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8bcf11a239eac4e224ad856277de9a36c91b1711, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/26a2a985bbeee3eaa6f80ff7de732161a171ec9f, https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ac02b2c56ccef0788cea9b86990a8f349a3fc6d8 and https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fe50cdaebf12cd32ff9a44d92bfd6fbc2300dbd4, with the NVD advisory at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89880. … Detailed patch versions, workarounds, and compensating controls in full report. |
Recommended ActionAI
Within 24 hours, inventory all Linux hosts with the rtl2832_sdr module loaded or an RTL2832U-class USB SDR dongle attached, and tighten access to the associated V4L2/SDR device nodes using udev rules or group permissions so only trusted local operators can open them. …
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today
EUVD-2026-80480
GHSA-rq55-pff5-xw57