The Linux kernel’s lm90 hardware monitoring driver contains a use‑after‑free flaw. During probe, a cleanup action is registered before the device is fully initialized, so the driver can be freed while delayed work items are still pending. If any work is executed after the device is released, the code dereferences freed memory and corrupts kernel data, leading to a crash and denial of service.

All Linux kernel installations that ship the lm90 driver without the commit that corrects the cleanup order are affected. The vulnerability applies to both modules compiled into the kernel and those loaded dynamically, and it is present in all kernel versions that have not yet incorporated the fix.

The CVSS score of 5.5 indicates moderate severity, and the EPSS score below 1% suggests a low likelihood of exploitation. The issue is not listed in CISA KEV. The CVE description does not specify the privilege level or attack vector required to trigger the use‑after‑free; it only notes that work items may execute after the hwmon device has been freed. It is uncertain whether a local or remote attacker could trigger re‑arming of the workers or if any existing privilege escalation is required. Therefore, the exact exploitability remains unconfirmed.