---
id: CVE-2026-98855
title: >-
  kernel: of/overlay: put property on deadprops only after changeset add
  succeeds (CVE-2026-98855)
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Device Tree overlay subsystem. When an
  error occurs while adding a property to a device tree overlay changeset, the
  allocated property is freed during error cleanup but remains tracked, leading
  to a s…
severity: medium
cvss: 4.4
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-1341
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 8
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-10-18'
updated: '2026-10-23'
sourceUpdated: '2026-10-23T15:23:27+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98855.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98855.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-98855'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2555241'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98855'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98855'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-98855.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/936f1ffcb87a1c50938a21176a6463af162cf4b5'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/d5151496a0a2b19c9c0c7b0ebf86b3de55a8fa3a'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/7dc6a769153c0457077a0da4888a00f61e66de15'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5857035a3b53a4e7b5a0d5a740189901ece0b079'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/814f2da6995772c07a7c9c2cc6028b6e3f3ecc9c'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00157
epssPercentile: 0.04764
ingestedAt: '2026-10-18T16:47:32.462Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel's Device Tree overlay subsystem. When an error occurs while adding a property to a device tree overlay changeset, the allocated property is freed during error cleanup but remains tracked, leading to a second release (double-free) when the overlay node is torn down. A local user could exploit this vulnerability to trigger memory corruption, potentially leading to a Denial of Service (DoS) or privilege escalation.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Moderate · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · updated 2026-10-23 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-98855.json)

**kernel: of/overlay: put property on deadprops only after changeset add succeeds** — rated Moderate by Red Hat. Released 2026-10-18, updated 2026-10-23.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

Not affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Fix deferred