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Linux KernelOperating system · Linux

CVE-2026-43181

MEDIUM · 5.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2026-05-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 6.18.16 / 6.19.6 or later.
See remediation →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: sysfs: fix chip removal with GPIOs exported over sysfs Currently if we export a GPIO over sysfs and unbind the parent GPIO controller, the exported attribute will remain under /sys/class/gpio because once we remove the parent device, we can no longer associate the descriptor with it in gpiod_unexport() and never drop the final reference. Rework the teardown code: provide an unlocked variant of gpiod_unexport() and remove all exported GPIOs with the sysfs_lock taken before unregistering the parent device itself. This is done to prevent any new exports happening before we unregister the device completely.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis

A detailed technical summary for this CVE is being prepared.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Linux KernelOperating system
Affected:>= 6.17, < 6.18.16>= 6.19, < 6.19.6

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 6.18.16 / 6.19.6 or later
Fixed in 6.18.166.19.6
Vendor patch git.kernel.org →
Recommended fix High confidence

Linux Kernel 6.18.16 (for 6.18.y branch) or Linux Kernel 6.19.6 (for 6.19.y branch)

  1. Identify the currently running kernel version using 'uname -r'
  2. Determine which stable branch your kernel comes from (6.18.y or 6.19.y)
  3. If using 6.18.x series: upgrade to kernel version 6.18.16 or later
  4. If using 6.19.x series: upgrade to kernel version 6.19.6 or later
  5. After upgrading, reboot the system to load the new kernel
  6. Verify the fix is applied by checking the kernel version matches or exceeds the fixed release
Caveat Kernel upgrades may require rebuilding out-of-tree modules; ensure driver compatibility before upgrading in production environments

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

We can perform the upgrade in your staging environment and verify nothing breaks — typical engagement from $1,600. Get the upgrade done

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-43181 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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