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

cxl/port: Fix use after free of parent_port in cxl_detach_ep()

cxl_detach_ep() is called during bottom-up removal when all CXL memory
devices beneath a switch port have been removed. For each port in the
hierarchy it locks both the port and its parent, removes the endpoint,
and if the port is now empty, marks it dead and unregisters the port
by calling delete_switch_port(). There are two places during this work
where the parent_port may be used after freeing:

First, a concurrent detach may have already processed a port by the
time a second worker finds it via bus_find_device(). Without pinning
parent_port, it may already be freed when we discover port->dead and
attempt to unlock the parent_port. In a production kernel that's a
silent memory corruption, with lock debug, it looks like this:

[]DEBUG_LOCKS_WARN_ON(__owner_task(owner) != get_current())
[]WARNING: kernel/locking/mutex.c:949 at __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0x1ee/0x310
[]Call Trace:
[]mutex_unlock+0xd/0x20
[]cxl_detach_ep+0x180/0x400 [cxl_core]
[]devm_action_release+0x10/0x20
[]devres_release_all+0xa8/0xe0
[]device_unbind_cleanup+0xd/0xa0
[]really_probe+0x1a6/0x3e0

Second, delete_switch_port() releases three devm actions registered
against parent_port. The last of those is unregister_port() and it
calls device_unregister() on the child port, which can cascade. If
parent_port is now also empty the device core may unregister and free
it too. So by the time delete_switch_port() returns, parent_port may
be free, and the subsequent device_unlock(&parent_port->dev) operates
on freed memory. The kernel log looks same as above, with a different
offset in cxl_detach_ep().

Both of these issues stem from the absence of a lifetime guarantee
between a child port and its parent port.

Establish a lifetime rule for ports: child ports hold a reference to
their parent device until release. Take the reference when the port
is allocated and drop it when released. This ensures the parent is
valid for the full lifetime of the child and eliminates the use after
free window in cxl_detach_ep().

This is easily reproduced with a reload of cxl_acpi in QEMU with CXL
devices present.
Published: 2026-04-22
Score: n/a
EPSS: n/a
KEV: No
Impact: n/a
Action: n/a
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History

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:15:00 +0000

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: cxl/port: Fix use after free of parent_port in cxl_detach_ep() cxl_detach_ep() is called during bottom-up removal when all CXL memory devices beneath a switch port have been removed. For each port in the hierarchy it locks both the port and its parent, removes the endpoint, and if the port is now empty, marks it dead and unregisters the port by calling delete_switch_port(). There are two places during this work where the parent_port may be used after freeing: First, a concurrent detach may have already processed a port by the time a second worker finds it via bus_find_device(). Without pinning parent_port, it may already be freed when we discover port->dead and attempt to unlock the parent_port. In a production kernel that's a silent memory corruption, with lock debug, it looks like this: []DEBUG_LOCKS_WARN_ON(__owner_task(owner) != get_current()) []WARNING: kernel/locking/mutex.c:949 at __mutex_unlock_slowpath+0x1ee/0x310 []Call Trace: []mutex_unlock+0xd/0x20 []cxl_detach_ep+0x180/0x400 [cxl_core] []devm_action_release+0x10/0x20 []devres_release_all+0xa8/0xe0 []device_unbind_cleanup+0xd/0xa0 []really_probe+0x1a6/0x3e0 Second, delete_switch_port() releases three devm actions registered against parent_port. The last of those is unregister_port() and it calls device_unregister() on the child port, which can cascade. If parent_port is now also empty the device core may unregister and free it too. So by the time delete_switch_port() returns, parent_port may be free, and the subsequent device_unlock(&parent_port->dev) operates on freed memory. The kernel log looks same as above, with a different offset in cxl_detach_ep(). Both of these issues stem from the absence of a lifetime guarantee between a child port and its parent port. Establish a lifetime rule for ports: child ports hold a reference to their parent device until release. Take the reference when the port is allocated and drop it when released. This ensures the parent is valid for the full lifetime of the child and eliminates the use after free window in cxl_detach_ep(). This is easily reproduced with a reload of cxl_acpi in QEMU with CXL devices present.
Title cxl/port: Fix use after free of parent_port in cxl_detach_ep()
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References

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Linux Linux Kernel
cve-icon MITRE

Status: PUBLISHED

Assigner: Linux

Published:

Updated: 2026-04-22T13:54:42.563Z

Reserved: 2026-03-09T15:48:24.112Z

Link: CVE-2026-31530

cve-icon Vulnrichment

No data.

cve-icon NVD

Status : Received

Published: 2026-04-22T14:16:53.293

Modified: 2026-04-22T14:16:53.293

Link: CVE-2026-31530

cve-icon Redhat

No data.

cve-icon OpenCVE Enrichment

Updated: 2026-04-22T20:15:20Z

Weaknesses

No weakness.