# CVE-2026-74673: Input: evdev - fix information leak in evdev_pass_values()

> A local attacker can read uninitialized kernel stack memory via evdev input events, potentially exposing sensitive information.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **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:** 22 Aug 2026
- **Updated:** 25 Aug 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-97176, BELL-CVE-2026-74673, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-74673, GHSA-9jxc-22p7-gqq4, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-74673

## What is CVE-2026-74673?

CVE-2026-74673 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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:

Input: evdev - fix information leak in evdev_pass_values()

In evdev_pass_values(), the input_event structure is allocated on the
kernel stack and populated field-by-field. However, it is never fully
initialized. On architectures where struct input_event contains explicit
or implicit padding (such as the 32-bit __pad field on SPARC64), these
padding bytes are left uninitialized.

When this event structure is subsequently passed to the client buffer
and later copied to userspace, the uninitialized padding bytes leak
kernel stack memory, potentially exposing sensitive information.

Similar issues exist in __evdev_queue_syn_dropped and __pass_event.

Fix this by explicitly zeroing the entire event structure with memset()
before populating its fields. This ensures all padding bytes are cleared
before the data crosses the security boundary.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-74673?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-74673?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-74673 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-74673 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-74673 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-74673 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 22 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-2026-74673 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-2026-74673/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74673/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-74673
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-74673
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-74673

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-74673/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.