CVE Catalog

CVE-2026-98859

Unknown
Published: Translated: NVD NIST

Summary

In the Linux kernel, the HID multitouch driver's mt_remove() used timer_delete_sync() to stop the sticky-finger release timer. However, the timer could be rearmed by a report arriving after deletion, leading to a use-after-free when the timer fired after the driver was unbound. The fix replaces timer_delete_sync() with timer_shutdown_sync(), which also prevents any subsequent mod_timer() from rearming the timer.

Risk Assessment

This use-after-free in the kernel can cause a system crash (kernel panic) or potentially allow arbitrary code execution with kernel privileges. Exploitation requires detaching a HID multitouch device at a specific moment, which limits the attack surface.

Recommendation

Update the Linux kernel to a version containing the fix (commit replacing timer_delete_sync() with timer_shutdown_sync() in mt_remove()). If updating is not possible, consider restricting the ability to detach HID multitouch devices to trusted users.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

See all
Original NVD description (English source)

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.

Vulnerability data from NVD (NIST) · CISA KEV · EPSS