CVE-2026-23009

xhci: sideband: don't dereference freed ring when removing sideband endpoint

Published Jan 25, 2026 CVSS 3.1 · 5.5 Medium EPSS < 1% KEV · Not listed
Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

xhci: sideband: don't dereference freed ring when removing sideband endpoint

xhci_sideband_remove_endpoint() incorrecly assumes that the endpoint is
running and has a valid transfer ring.

Lianqin reported a crash during suspend/wake-up stress testing, and
found the cause to be dereferencing a non-existing transfer ring
'ep->ring' during xhci_sideband_remove_endpoint().

The endpoint and its ring may be in unknown state if this function
is called after xHCI was reinitialized in resume (lost power), or if
device is being re-enumerated, disconnected or endpoint already dropped.

Fix this by both removing unnecessary ring access, and by checking
ep->ring exists before dereferencing it. Also make sure endpoint is
running before attempting to stop it.

Remove the xhci_initialize_ring_info() call during sideband endpoint
removal as is it only initializes ring structure enqueue, dequeue and
cycle state values to their starting values without changing actual
hardware enqueue, dequeue and cycle state. Leaving them out of sync
is worse than leaving it as it is. The endpoint will get freed in after
this in most usecases.

If the (audio) class driver want's to reuse the endpoint after offload
then it is up to the class driver to ensure endpoint is properly set up.

Remediation

No solution or workaround provided in the CVE record

Tracking

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Advisories

Source ID Title
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8570-1 Linux kernel vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8594-1 Linux kernel (OEM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8604-1 Linux kernel (Azure) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8605-1 Linux kernel (Azure CVM) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8570-2 Linux kernel (Oracle) vulnerabilities
Ubuntu USN Ubuntu USN USN-8669-1 Linux kernel (NVIDIA) vulnerabilities
History
Type Values Removed Values Added
Metrics ssvc

{'options': {'Automatable': 'no', 'Exploitation': 'none', 'Technical Impact': 'partial'}, 'version': '2.0.3'}

Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses CWE-416
Type Values Removed Values Added
Weaknesses NVD-CWE-noinfo
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.16:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc1:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc2:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc3:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc4:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc5:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc6:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc7:*:*:*:*:*:*
cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:6.19:rc8:*:*:*:*:*:*
Type Values Removed Values Added
References
Metrics threat_severity

None

cvssV3_1

{'score': 5.5, 'vector': 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'}

threat_severity

Low

Type Values Removed Values Added
Description In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: xhci: sideband: don't dereference freed ring when removing sideband endpoint xhci_sideband_remove_endpoint() incorrecly assumes that the endpoint is running and has a valid transfer ring. Lianqin reported a crash during suspend/wake-up stress testing, and found the cause to be dereferencing a non-existing transfer ring 'ep->ring' during xhci_sideband_remove_endpoint(). The endpoint and its ring may be in unknown state if this function is called after xHCI was reinitialized in resume (lost power), or if device is being re-enumerated, disconnected or endpoint already dropped. Fix this by both removing unnecessary ring access, and by checking ep->ring exists before dereferencing it. Also make sure endpoint is running before attempting to stop it. Remove the xhci_initialize_ring_info() call during sideband endpoint removal as is it only initializes ring structure enqueue, dequeue and cycle state values to their starting values without changing actual hardware enqueue, dequeue and cycle state. Leaving them out of sync is worse than leaving it as it is. The endpoint will get freed in after this in most usecases. If the (audio) class driver want's to reuse the endpoint after offload then it is up to the class driver to ensure endpoint is properly set up.
Title xhci: sideband: don't dereference freed ring when removing sideband endpoint
First Time appeared Linux
Linux linux Kernel
CPEs cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
Vendors & Products Linux
Linux linux Kernel
References
Weaknesses

Sources

Status
PUBLISHED
Assigner
Linux
Published
Updated
Nov 5, 2026, 9:23 PM
Reserved
Jan 13, 2026, 3:37 PM
Status
Analyzed
Published
Jan 25, 2026, 3:15 PM
Modified
Nov 5, 2026, 10:18 PM
Severity
Low
Public date
Jan 25, 2026, 12:00 AM