# CVE-2026-72144: platform/x86: dell-laptop: fix missing cleanups in init error path

> Missing resource cleanup in the Dell laptop driver init error path can leave stale kernel resources registered, potentially causing instability or resource leaks.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/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:** 15 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 16 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-72144, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-72144, GHSA-v9hf-qh3h-mwjj, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-72144

## What is CVE-2026-72144?

CVE-2026-72144 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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:

platform/x86: dell-laptop: fix missing cleanups in init error path

dell_init() initializes several resources after dell_setup_rfkill(),
including the optional touchpad LED, keyboard backlight LED, battery
hook, debugfs directory and dell-laptop notifier.

If a later LED or backlight registration fails, the error path only
tears down the battery hook and rfkill resources. This leaves the
notifier, debugfs directory, keyboard backlight LED and optional
touchpad LED registered after dell_init() returns an error.

Add the missing cleanup calls before tearing down rfkill.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-72144?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-72144?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-72144 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-72144 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-72144 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-72144 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 15 Aug 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-2026-72144 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Linux. 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-2026-72144/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72144/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-72144
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-72144
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-72144

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-72144/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.