Linux KernelOperating system · Linux
CVE-2026-53116
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedIn the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/ap: use generic driver_override infrastructure When the AP masks are updated via apmask_store() or aqmask_store(), ap_bus_revise_bindings() is called after ap_attr_mutex has been released. This calls __ap_revise_reserved(), which accesses the driver_override field without holding any lock, racing against a concurrent driver_override_store() that may free the old string, resulting in a potential UAF. Fix this by using the driver-core driver_override infrastructure, which protects all accesses with an internal spinlock. Note that unlike most other buses, the AP bus does not check driver_override in its match() callback; the override is checked in ap_device_probe() and __ap_revise_reserved() instead. Also note that we do not enable the driver_override feature of struct bus_type, as AP - in contrast to most other buses - passes "" to sysfs_emit() when the driver_override pointer is NULL. Thus, printing "\n" instead of "(null)\n". Additionally, AP has a custom counter that is modified in the corresponding custom driver_override_store().
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysisMemory is used after it has been freed, so its contents — now potentially attacker-controlled — drive the program's behaviour. With careful heap grooming this becomes code execution. The fix requires disciplined ownership of memory and often a targeted rework of the object lifecycle.
General guidance for the use after free class — the official description and references above are authoritative for this specific CVE. Want a bespoke review and a reviewed fix? Ask our team →
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
>= 6.19, < 7.0.10CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
dbcve · scoped7.0.10
Linux Kernel 7.0.10 or later (or equivalent stable backport if available for your distribution)
- Upgrade Linux Kernel to version 7.0.10 or later to receive the fix for the use-after-free vulnerability in s390/ap driver_override handling
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-53116 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-53116 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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