# CVE-2026-90197: HID: haptic: don't write an uninitialized value to unhandled usages

> An attacker with local access can read uninitialized kernel memory via HID haptic reports, potentially exposing sensitive data.

- **Severity:** Not scored
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 17 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-90197, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-90197, GHSA-m8pj-r7fv-796q, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-90197

## What is CVE-2026-90197?

CVE-2026-90197 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 17 Sep 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:

HID: haptic: don't write an uninitialized value to unhandled usages

fill_effect_buf() initializes value only for the four haptic usages
handled by its switch, but writes it to field->value[] for every usage.
An unhandled usage can therefore receive either an uninitialized value
or one left over from the previous usage. hid_output_report() then
serializes that value into the effect's report buffer.

Skip unhandled usages instead. This also matches switch_mode(), which
only updates fields it recognizes.

Found with Clang's -Wconditional-uninitialized.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-90197?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-90197?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-90197 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-90197 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-90197 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-90197 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 17 Sep 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-2026-90197 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-2026-90197/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90197/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-90197
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-90197
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-90197

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-90197/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.