int regulator_set_mode(struct regulator *regulator, unsigned int mode)
{
	struct regulator_dev *rdev = regulator->rdev;
	int ret;
	int regulator_curr_mode;

	mutex_lock(&rdev->mutex);

	/* sanity check */
	if (!rdev->desc->ops->set_mode) {
		ret = -EINVAL;
		goto out;
	}

	/* return if the same mode is requested */
	if (rdev->desc->ops->get_mode) {
		regulator_curr_mode = rdev->desc->ops->get_mode(rdev);
		if (regulator_curr_mode == mode) {
			ret = 0;
			goto out;
		}
	}

	/* constraints check */
	ret = regulator_mode_constrain(rdev, &mode);
	if (ret < 0)
		goto out;

	ret = rdev->desc->ops->set_mode(rdev, mode);
out:
	mutex_unlock(&rdev->mutex);
	return ret;
}

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 Any operations using the original pointer are no longer valid because the memory belongs to the code that operates on the new pointer.