CVE-2026-23357 can: mcp251x: fix deadlock in error path of mcp251x_open

What is CVE-2026-23357?

CVE-2026-23357 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 25 Mar 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

can: mcp251x: fix deadlock in error path of mcp251x_open

The mcp251x_open() function call free_irq() in its error path with the mpc_lock mutex held. But if an interrupt already occurred the interrupt handler will be waiting for the mpc_lock and free_irq() will deadlock waiting for the handler to finish.

This issue is similar to the one fixed in commit 7dd9c26bd6cf ("can: mcp251x: fix deadlock if an interrupt occurs during mcp251x_open") but for the error path.

To solve this issue move the call to free_irq() after the lock is released. Setting `priv->force_quit = 1` beforehand ensure that the IRQ handler will exit right away once it acquired the lock.

Weakness: CWE-667

Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-23357?

It affects 1 product.

Products include Linux kernel.

How do I fix CVE-2026-23357?

Apply the vendor's patch.

Is CVE-2026-23357 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-23357 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

• CVE-2026-53266 Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2013-6282 Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation Exploited High 8.8
• CVE-2022-0185 Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2013-2094 Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation Exploited High 8.4
• CVE-2026-53362 Linux Kernel Unspecified Exploited High 7.8

All Linux kernel vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as AZL-80685, BELL-CVE-2026-23357, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-23357, GHSA-f94p-fcww-cpfj, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-23357, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-12-CVE-2026-23357 and 4 more.