CVE-2026-97987 virtio_input: reset device if input_register_device() fails
A race condition in the Linux kernel virtio_input driver allows device state corruption if input registration fails, potentially causing a denial of service.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-97987?
CVE-2026-97987 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 25 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:
virtio_input: reset device if input_register_device() fails
Probe marks the device DRIVER_OK with virtio_device_ready() before calling input_register_device(). If registration fails, the error path cleared vi->ready and called del_vqs() while the device was still live, so the device could keep DMA to queues that were already torn down.
Match remove/freeze: call virtio_reset_device() on that path before tearing down the virtqueues.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-97987?
How do I fix CVE-2026-97987?
Apply the vendor's patch.
Is CVE-2026-97987 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-97987 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as AZL-104318, BELL-CVE-2026-97987, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-97987, GHSA-6x39-q2c6-8xg8, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-97987.