# CVE-2026-98528: gpio: cdev: fix kernel stack leak to user-space in error path

> A local attacker can read uninitialized kernel stack memory via a GPIO character device error path, potentially exposing sensitive data.

- **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:** 18 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 19 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** BELL-CVE-2026-98528, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98528, GHSA-2259-3wph-4x6g, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98528

## What is CVE-2026-98528?

CVE-2026-98528 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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:

gpio: cdev: fix kernel stack leak to user-space in error path

If we fail to acquire the GPIO chip guard in gpio_desc_to_lineinfo(), we
return immediately before zeroing the info struct we'll end up passing
to the user-space later in lineinfo_get_v1(). This may leak the kernel
stack contents. Make gpio_desc_to_lineinfo() return int so that the
-ENODEV returned on failure to acquire the guard can be propagated to
the callers.

While not strictly necessary: move the memset() before trying to acquire
the SRCU read lock too for good measure.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98528?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98528?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2026-98528 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98528 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98528 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98528 is a vulnerability in Linux, published on 18 Oct 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-2026-98528 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-2026-98528/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98528/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98528
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98528
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98528

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98528/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.