In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hsr: Prevent use after free in prp_create_tagged_frame() The prp_fill_rct() function can fail. In that situation, it frees the skb and returns NULL. Meanwhile on the success path, it returns the original skb. So it's straight forward to fix bug by using the returned value.
The product reuses or references memory after it has been freed. At some point afterward, the memory may be allocated again and saved in another pointer, while the original pointer references a location somewhere within the new allocation. Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory "belongs" to the code that operates on the new pointer.