CVE-2026-89871

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: media: video-i2c: fix kthread error pointer left in kthread_vid_cap on failure kthread_run() returns an ERR_PTR on failure, not NULL. When start_streaming() fails, data->kthread_vid_cap is left holding this error pointer instead of being cleared. This causes two subsequent bugs: 1. A future call to start_streaming() sees a non-NULL kthread_vid_cap and returns 0 (success) immediately, without actually starting the capture thread. 2. A call to stop_streaming() checks 'kthread_vid_cap == NULL' which is false for an error pointer, and proceeds to call kthread_stop() on the error pointer, leading to a kernel crash. Fix this by resetting kthread_vid_cap to NULL on failure before jumping to the error path.

Package Linux Kernel
Published 2026-09-16
Last modified 2026-09-16
Patch available
Yes

Affected versions

Linux kernel versions 4.18 and later are affected. Fixed in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188, 6.6.157, 6.12.110, 6.18.51, 7.2.5, 7.3-rc1 and their respective stable series.

Affected from
≥ 4.18
Fixed in
✓ 5.10.270 5.10.x ✓ 5.15.221 5.15.x ✓ 6.1.188 6.1.x ✓ 6.6.157 6.6.x ✓ 6.12.110 6.12.x ✓ 6.18.51 6.18.x ✓ 7.2.5 7.2.x ✓ 7.3-rc1

Frequently asked questions

  • What is CVE-2026-89871?

    CVE-2026-89871 is a unscored severity Linux kernel vulnerability . It affects Linux kernel versions from 4.18 onward and has been patched in 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188 and others. CVE-2026-89871 has not been confirmed as actively exploited and is not listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

  • Is there a patch available for CVE-2026-89871?

    Yes. CVE-2026-89871 has been patched. Fixed versions include 5.10.270, 5.15.221, 6.1.188 and others. If you are running Linux kernel 4.18 or later up to the fix versions, apply the relevant patch for your kernel branch.

  • Is CVE-2026-89871 actively exploited?

    No. CVE-2026-89871 has not been confirmed as actively exploited. It is not listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.