Linux kernel HID multitouch release timer can run after removal
Key facts
- Attack vector
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- Privileges required
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- User interaction
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- Attack complexity
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- Impact type
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- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
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- Fix status
- Partial Red Hat: 1 without a fix
No CVSS vector from any source. Fix status from CNA and Red Hat.
Summary
The Linux kernel from 4.13 is affected. The HID multitouch driver can rearm its sticky-finger release timer when a device report arrives during removal, so the timer later dereferences memory that was freed when the driver was unbound.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
Description from the CNA
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: HID: multitouch: stop the release timer from being rearmed on remove mt_remove() quiesces the sticky-finger timer before stopping the hardware: timer_delete_sync(&td->release_timer); sysfs_remove_group(&hdev->dev.kobj, &mt_attribute_group); hid_hw_stop(hdev); timer_delete_sync() waits for a running callback and dequeues the timer, but it does not stop the timer from being armed again. The transport is still delivering reports at that point, and the report path rearms it: if (app->quirks & MT_QUIRK_STICKY_FINGERS) { if (td->mt_io_flags & MT_IO_SLOTS_MASK) mod_timer(&td->release_timer, jiffies + msecs_to_jiffies(100)); A report that arrives after timer_delete_sync() has returned therefore leaves the timer queued. td is allocated with devm_kzalloc() against hdev->dev, so it is freed when the driver is unbound, after mt_remove() returns. When the timer fires afterwards, mt_expired_timeout() dereferences the freed td: struct mt_device *td = timer_container_of(td, t, release_timer); struct hid_device *hdev = td->hdev; if (test_and_set_bit_lock(MT_IO_FLAGS_RUNNING, &td->mt_io_flags)) Simply moving the teardown after hid_hw_stop() does not fix this on its own, because mt_expired_timeout() calls mt_release_contacts(), which walks hdev->inputs; the timer still has to be quiesced before hid_hw_stop() tears the input devices down. Use timer_shutdown_sync() instead, which additionally makes any later mod_timer() a no-op, so neither ordering constraint has to be traded off against the other. This is the final-teardown pattern the function was introduced for, and hid-wiimote already uses it for the same reason.
Why it matters now
SSVC decision points
Not available: CISA has not published SSVC decision points for this record.
Affected products
Remediation
Upgrade the Linux kernel to 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10 or 7.3. Red Hat lists Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 as affected with no fix available.
Written with Claude Haiku 5.5 from the sources below · 2026-11-06
- Fix · CNA Linux (Linux) Fixed in 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.56, 7.2.10, 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: Fix deferred |
Timeline
- 2026-10-18 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-98859
- 2026-10-18 Alias added: GHSA-rf84-p87x-87h6
- 2026-10-19 Fix available: Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 Affected versions changed · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 CVSS score added · Red Hat
- 2026-10-21 Fix available: Linux/Linux@3776f34fbce990af45978f1628d2e1adc0d67d0f, Linux/[email protected] · CNA
- 2026-10-21 1 new reference · CNA
References
Other 5
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3776f34fbce990af45978f1628d2e1adc0d67d0f
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f1bd9a3117f082eb891c0986c4f0e04cd974c9a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0c19a6c1d25fd5ed66d1f80dc6f6e56cc1f0a787
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0125ca86e405b8a704e96157a6c10ca51087652
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5acb2dace582f061aab5e14c399ac9480315f44b
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Sources
- CVE-2026-98859 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-98859 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-rf84-p87x-87h6 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
- CVE-2026-98859 · Red Hat security data · CC BY 4.0
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