# CVE-2026-43227: clocksource/drivers/sh_tmu: Always leave device running after probe

> A locking context violation in the Linux kernel TMU driver can cause a lockdep warning and potential system instability or crash.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 6 May 2026
- **Updated:** 11 May 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-43227, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-43227, GHSA-fr73-rvrj-9p6q, ROOT-OS-DEBIAN-11-CVE-2026-43227, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2204-CVE-2026-43227, ROOT-OS-UBUNTU-2404-CVE-2026-43227, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-43227

## What is CVE-2026-43227?

CVE-2026-43227 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 6 May 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:

clocksource/drivers/sh_tmu: Always leave device running after probe

The TMU device can be used as both a clocksource and a clockevent
provider. The driver tries to be smart and power itself on and off, as
well as enabling and disabling its clock when it's not in operation.
This behavior is slightly altered if the TMU is used as an early
platform device in which case the device is left powered on after probe,
but the clock is still enabled and disabled at runtime.

This has worked for a long time, but recent improvements in PREEMPT_RT
and PROVE_LOCKING have highlighted an issue. As the TMU registers itself
as a clockevent provider, clockevents_register_device(), it needs to use
raw spinlocks internally as this is the context of which the clockevent
framework interacts with the TMU driver. However in the context of
holding a raw spinlock the TMU driver can't really manage its power
state or clock with calls to pm_runtime_*() and clk_*() as these calls
end up in other platform drivers using regular spinlocks to control
power and clocks.

This mix of spinlock contexts trips a lockdep warning.

    =============================
    [ BUG: Invalid wait context ]
    6.18.0-arm64-renesas-09926-gee959e7c5e34 #1 Not tainted
    -----------------------------
    swapper/0/0 is trying to lock:
    ffff000008c9e180 (&dev->power.lock){-...}-{3:3}, at: __pm_runtime_resume+0x38/0x88
    other info that might help us debug this:
    context-{5:5}
    1 lock held by swapper/0/0:
    ccree e6601000.crypto: ARM CryptoCell 630P Driver: HW version 0xAF400001/0xDCC63000, Driver version 5.0
     #0: ffff8000817ec298
    ccree e6601000.crypto: ARM ccree device initialized
     (tick_broadcast_lock){-...}-{2:2}, at: __tick_broadcast_oneshot_control+0xa4/0x3a8
    stack backtrace:
    CPU: 0 UID: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 6.18.0-arm64-renesas-09926-gee959e7c5e34 #1 PREEMPT
    Hardware name: Renesas Salvator-X 2nd version board based on r8a77965 (DT)
    Call trace:
     show_stack+0x14/0x1c (C)
     dump_stack_lvl+0x6c/0x90
     dump_stack+0x14/0x1c
     __lock_acquire+0x904/0x1584
     lock_acquire+0x220/0x34c
     _raw_spin_lock_irqsave+0x58/0x80
     __pm_runtime_resume+0x38/0x88
     sh_tmu_clock_event_set_oneshot+0x84/0xd4
     clockevents_switch_state+0xfc/0x13c
     tick_broadcast_set_event+0x30/0xa4
     __tick_broadcast_oneshot_control+0x1e0/0x3a8
     tick_broadcast_oneshot_control+0x30/0x40
     cpuidle_enter_state+0x40c/0x680
     cpuidle_enter+0x30/0x40
     do_idle+0x1f4/0x280
     cpu_startup_entry+0x34/0x40
     kernel_init+0x0/0x130
     do_one_initcall+0x0/0x230
     __primary_switched+0x88/0x90

For non-PREEMPT_RT builds this is not really an issue, but for
PREEMPT_RT builds where normal spinlocks can sleep this might be an
issue. Be cautious and always leave the power and clock running after
probe.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-43227?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Linux kernel.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-43227?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-43227 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43227 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Linux kernel

- [CVE-2026-53266](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53266/): Linux Kernel Out-of-Bounds Write (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-6282](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-6282/): Linux Kernel Improper Input Validation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2022-0185](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-0185/): Linux Kernel Heap-Based Buffer Overflow (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2013-2094](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2013-2094/): Linux Kernel Privilege Escalation (high 8.4, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-53362](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-53362/): Linux Kernel Unspecified (high 7.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-43227 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-43227 is a medium-severity denial of service vulnerability in Linux kernel, published on 6 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-43227 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux kernel. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43227/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43227/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-43227
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-43227
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-43227

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-43227/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.
