CVE-2026-97986: virtio_input: stop callbacks before unregistering input device

Severity: unknown
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-25 · updated 2026-10-19

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: virtio_input: stop callbacks before unregistering input device virtinput_remove() unregisters the input device before resetting the virtio device. virtinput_recv_events() drops vi->lock around input_event(), so clearing vi->ready does not stop a callback that passed the entry check. It can still use vi->idev, requeue buffers and kick the queue. Reset first, as virtinput_freeze() already does. With the preceding core change, reset waits for callbacks before input_unregister_device() can free vi->idev. Recheck vi->ready after taking the lock again: keep draining completed events so an input packet is not truncated, but stop requeueing buffers and kicking the queue. With evdev attached, input_unregister_handle() currently waits for an RCU grace period, which also waits out IRQ callbacks. This masks the lifetime bug on PCI and MMIO, but does not protect sleepable callbacks on other transports.

Affected products

Linux kernel: 4.1 — fixed in 7.3

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Linux kernel 7.3. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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