CVE-2026-22986

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

gpiolib: fix race condition for gdev->srcu

If two drivers were calling gpiochip_add_data_with_key(), one may be traversing the srcu-protected list in gpio_name_to_desc(), meanwhile other has just added its gdev in gpiodev_add_to_list_unlocked(). This creates a non-mutexed and non-protected timeframe, when one instance is dereferencing and using &gdev->srcu, before the other has initialized it, resulting in crash:

[ 4.935481] Unable to handle kernel paging request at virtual address ffff800272bcc000 [ 4.943396] Mem abort info: [ 4.943400] ESR = 0x0000000096000005 [ 4.943403] EC = 0x25: DABT (current EL), IL = 32 bits [ 4.943407] SET = 0, FnV = 0 [ 4.943410] EA = 0, S1PTW = 0 [ 4.943413] FSC = 0x05: level 1 translation fault [ 4.943416] Data abort info: [ 4.943418] ISV = 0, ISS = 0x00000005, ISS2 = 0x00000000 [ 4.946220] CM = 0, WnR = 0, TnD = 0, TagAccess = 0 [ 4.955261] GCS = 0, Overlay = 0, DirtyBit = 0, Xs = 0 [ 4.955268] swapper pgtable: 4k pages, 48-bit VAs, pgdp=0000000038e6c000 [ 4.961449] [ffff800272bcc000] pgd=0000000000000000 [ 4.969203] , p4d=1000000039739003 [ 4.979730] , pud=0000000000000000 [ 4.980210] phandle (CPU): 0x0000005e, phandle (BE): 0x5e000000 for node reset [ 4.991736] Internal error: Oops: 0000000096000005 [#1] PREEMPT SMP … [ 5.121359] pc : __srcu_read_lock+0x44/0x98 [ 5.131091] lr : gpio_name_to_desc+0x60/0x1a0 [ 5.153671] sp : ffff8000833bb430 [ 5.298440] [ 5.298443] Call trace: [ 5.298445] __srcu_read_lock+0x44/0x98 [ 5.309484] gpio_name_to_desc+0x60/0x1a0 [ 5.320692] gpiochip_add_data_with_key+0x488/0xf00 5.946419] —[ end trace 0000000000000000 ]—

Move initialization code for gdev fields before it is added to gpio_devices, with adjacent initialization code. Adjust goto statements to reflect modified order of operations

[Bartosz: fixed a build issue, removed stray newline]

Weakness

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

Affected Software

Extended Description

A race condition occurs within concurrent environments, and it is effectively a property of a code sequence. Depending on the context, a code sequence may be in the form of a function call, a small number of instructions, a series of program invocations, etc. A race condition violates these properties, which are closely related:

A race condition exists when an “interfering code sequence” can still access the shared resource, violating exclusivity. The interfering code sequence could be “trusted” or “untrusted.” A trusted interfering code sequence occurs within the product; it cannot be modified by the attacker, and it can only be invoked indirectly. An untrusted interfering code sequence can be authored directly by the attacker, and typically it is external to the vulnerable product.

Potential Mitigations

• Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
• Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).

Related Attack Patterns

• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/26.html
• https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/29.html

References

• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a7ac22d53d0990152b108c3f4fe30df45fcb0181
• https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/fb674c8f1a5d8dd3113a7326030f963fa2d79c02