# CVE-2026-98944: HID: steam: Refactor registration


- **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
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 23 Oct 2026
- **Updated:** 26 Oct 2026
- **Also known as:** AZL-110741, BELL-CVE-2026-98944, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-98944, GHSA-x6f5-jpm5-3jpm, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-98944

## What is CVE-2026-98944?

CVE-2026-98944 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 23 Oct 2026. 

### Official description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

HID: steam: Refactor registration

This refactors and simplifies the registration/unregistration flow. Since
we now only perform registration when the client isn't opened anymore, the
logic for handling that can be removed, and the rest of the function
streamlined.

We also remove the previous assumption that we have a serial number to show
we're registered, replacing it with a single purpose boolean.

In a previous refactor the code for unregistering a battery if later
registration steps failed was accidentally left out. As a result, a
lingering power_supply object could get left over after the steam object
was torn down. This is also fixed here.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-98944?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-98944?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-98944 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98944 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-98944 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-98944 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, published on 23 Oct 2026. 
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-98944 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-2026-98944/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98944/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-98944
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98944
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-98944

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-98944/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.