w83791d hwmon driver leaves fan/pwm sysfs files after unbind
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Attack complexity
- High
- Impact type
- —
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- High · High · High
- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 7 without a fix
Attack profile from CVSS 3.1 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel hwmon w83791d driver does not remove its optional fan/pwm 4-5 sysfs group during normal teardown. The leftover sysfs files can remain after the driver is unbound, and their callbacks access driver data that is released at unbind. A local attacker with low privileges can trigger accesses to this stale driver data.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwmon: (w83791d) remove fan/pwm 4-5 sysfs group on remove When the fan/pwm 4-5 pins are not used as GPIO, w83791d_probe() creates the w83791d_group_fanpwm45 sysfs group on the I2C client device. The probe error path removes this group when a later initialization step fails, but the normal remove path only removes w83791d_group. As a result, the optional fan/pwm 4-5 sysfs files can remain after the driver is unbound. The callbacks associated with these files access the driver data, which is devm allocated and released after driver unbind. Leaving the sysfs files behind can therefore result in accesses to stale driver data. Remove w83791d_group_fanpwm45 during normal teardown as well. This issue was found by manual code inspection.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | 2.6.28 and later | 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3 | Patch available | CNA |
- Linux VendorLinux Affected 2.6.28 and later Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3 Patch available CNA
Remediation
Update the Linux kernel to 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8 or 7.3, or to a release that includes the upstream fix commits listed for the affected ranges. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 has no fix planned. The sources list no fixed version for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, 8, 9 and 10 or for OpenShift Container Platform 4 and 5.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-10-30
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 5.10.271, 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.112, 6.18.54, 7.2.8, 7.3
Vendor assessments
Red Hat
Red Hat rating: Moderate. Red Hat's page for this CVE →
| Product | Status | Plan or fix |
|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 | Affected | No fix planned: Out of support scope |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 | Affected | No fix yet |
| Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 5 | Affected | No fix yet |
Timeline
- 2026-10-06 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98197
- 2026-10-06 Alias added: GHSA-w8gm-245m-mgrg
- 2026-10-07 CVSS score added · CNA
- 2026-10-09 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-09 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-30 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
References
Other 8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/081e3a78453635fb370b1712809d2af29e60b4c5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b1d419eb3bc41245c3d3d99dfe1a7b6c45989586
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2ccf6c512290a288a2d4d7f076430dfb0c6ee476
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f6e2ab72f32d16d71a2549c7ea062dd209f71670
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2dd37d00f1f1af8e02ffa70ee573c10fd1a76864
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2c381e6e0f033f2df13bd64905e7232c42f49009
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/583e04e88e75b8d57304015d83c38e82a9531600
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0ff9c7775e51ac6d47b1bb5c46f06b1434fe58a8
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98197 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98197 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-w8gm-245m-mgrg · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98197 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences