data built 2026-10-19T13:16:53Z

Look up another CVE · open CVE-2026-98198 in the interactive tracker

CVE-2026-98198

hwmon: (pwm-fan) Stop RPM timer before freeing tach data

EPSS 0.2%

Published 2026-10-06 (13 days ago) by the Linux kernel CNA. Subsystem drivers/hwmon. Debian urgency: not yet assigned.

What to do, per Debian release

Debian's own status for CVE-2026-98198 in every release this site tracks, and what each one means in practice. Every status below is the one the Debian Security Team publishes for this CVE. source

ReleaseStatus VersionWhat this means
Debian 12bookwormvulnerable6.1.190-1No fix published anywhere yet, neither in Debian nor upstream for the series bookworm tracks. Watch the Debian tracker page for this CVE. Advisories for bookworm have historically landed a median of 23 days after publication.
Debian 13trixiefixedDSA-6568-1 · 2026-10-16 · text6.12.113-1Update the kernel and reboot. DSA-6568-1 shipped the fix on 2026-10-16, in 6.12.113-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian 14forkyfixed7.2.8-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.
Debian unstablesidfixed7.2.8-1Update the kernel and reboot. Fixed in 7.2.8-1. A running kernel keeps the old code until the machine restarts.

The vulnerability

What the bug is

sample_timer() rearms the RPM timer and accesses the devm-managed ctx->tachs and ctx->pulses_per_revolution arrays. The cleanup action which stops the timer is registered before those arrays are allocated. Since devres releases entries in reverse order, driver detach can free the arrays before pwm_fan_cleanup() shuts down the timer. A timer expiry in that window accesses the freed tach data. With a KASAN kernel, a test-only kprobe delayed entry to pwm_fan_cleanup() while normal sysfs unbind ran. Each of three runs reported three four-byte reads and two four-byte writes in sample_timer() after its backing devm allocations had been freed. The helper did not invoke the timer callback, cleanup actions or free functions. With the fix, three matching unbind runs completed without KASAN, BUG, WARNING, Oops or panic. Instrumentation confirmed that timer retirement completed before the first timer backing allocation was released. Split timer retirement from the power cleanup and register its devres action after the timer backing data and IRQ actions are installed. This preserves the early power rollback action while ensuring the timer is retired before its backing data is released. Use timer_shutdown_sync() because the callback can rearm itself.

Where it lives

The fix touches these files. If the subsystem is one you do not use, the practical exposure is lower, though the package is still the vulnerable one.

drivers/hwmon/pwm-fan.c

What this is
HARDWARE MONITORINGMAINTAINERS section matched on drivers/hwmon/ · linux-hwmon@vger.kernel.org · Maintained
Kernel module
pwm_fan

Check it on the machine

grep -wE 'CONFIG_HWMON|CONFIG_SENSORS_PWM_FAN' /boot/config-$(uname -r)

Reads the booted kernel's own configuration, on the machine and nowhere else. =y is built in, =m is a module, and an is not set line means the code is not there.

lsmod | grep -w pwm_fan

Prints a line if that module is loaded right now, and nothing if it is not. One that is not loaded can still be loaded later by anything that needs it.

Show whether Debian builds this, per release

Debian builds this, but not on every flavour. At least one release below builds the code on some of its kernel flavours and not on others, so the answer depends on the architecture and flavour installed.

  • bookwormMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, i386/686, i386/686-pae, i386/rt/686-pae, ppc64el/powerpc64le
  • trixieMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt/amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, armel/rpi, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, riscv64/riscv64, s390x/s390x
  • forky, sidMnot built on amd64/amd64, amd64/cloud-amd64, amd64/rt-amd64, arm64/cloud-arm64, loong64/loong64, ppc64el/powerpc64le, ppc64el/powerpc64le-64k, s390x/s390x
M
a module where it is built at all; some flavours do not build it
Build switches
CONFIG_HWMON, CONFIG_SENSORS_PWM_FAN
Reads as
all on means the file is compiled; any one off means it is not.

From the configuration Debian publishes for every kernel flavour it builds. It covers only the architectures Debian ships a linux-config package for, and nothing about a kernel you built yourself. Debian's own status above stays authoritative about the source package.MAINTAINERS kbuild Makefiles Debian linux-config packages

Signals

Published
2026-10-06 (13 days ago)source
CVSS
no vector published, unrated
Attack vector
not published
EPSS
0.18%, higher than 6.6% of all CVEssource
CISA KEV
not listedthe KEV catalogue
Debian urgency
not yet assignedsource
Subsystem
drivers/hwmon

Upstream fixes

The versions the CNA records as introducing and fixing this, and the commit for each. source

IntroducedFixed inCommit
5.126.12.1121e824fdb14a1
5.126.18.54a5ce3fe5335a
5.127.2.8b48339b0a577
5.127.326d5ff797685

Debian advisories

AdvisoryDateShipped toDebian
DSA-6568-12026-10-16trixie 6.12.113-1tracker

Why the CNA scored it this way

The kernel CNA published no CVSS vector and no reasoning for CVE-2026-98198, which is why it is shown as unrated rather than given an invented score. 6,405 of the 20,413 CVEs here carry reasoning; this is not one of them.