CVE-2026-43181: gpio: sysfs: fix chip removal with GPIOs exported over sysfs

Severity: medium (CVSS 5.5 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.1% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-05-06 · updated 2026-06-17

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: sysfs: fix chip removal with GPIOs exported over sysfs Currently if we export a GPIO over sysfs and unbind the parent GPIO controller, the exported attribute will remain under /sys/class/gpio because once we remove the parent device, we can no longer associate the descriptor with it in gpiod_unexport() and never drop the final reference. Rework the teardown code: provide an unlocked variant of gpiod_unexport() and remove all exported GPIOs with the sysfs_lock taken before unregistering the parent device itself. This is done to prevent any new exports happening before we unregister the device completely.

Affected products

Linux kernel: from 6.17 before 6.18.16; from 6.19 before 6.19.6 — fixed in 6.18.16, 6.19.6

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 6.18.16, 6.19.6. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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