CVE-2026-98200

Description

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwmon: (hp-wmi-sensors) Fix use-after-free in fungible_show() nsensor->current_state is dynamically replaced as the sensor's state changes. update_numeric_sensor_from_wobj() does this by freeing the old string and installing a new one: if (strcmp(trimmed, nsensor->current_state)) { new_string = hp_wmi_strdup(dev, trimmed); if (new_string) { devm_kfree(dev, nsensor->current_state); nsensor->current_state = new_string; } } This function is only ever called from hp_wmi_update_info() while state->lock is held, so the free-and-replace itself is properly serialized against concurrent updates. fungible_show(), however, reads the same pointer after the lock has already been dropped: err = hp_wmi_update_info(state, info); if (err) return err; switch (prop) { ... case HP_WMI_PROPERTY_CURRENT_STATE: seq_printf(seqf, "%s\n", nsensor->current_state); break; hp_wmi_update_info() takes state->lock internally and releases it before returning, so by the time fungible_show() dereferences nsensor->current_state in seq_printf(), no lock is held. Two processes reading a sensor's current_state debugfs entry at overlapping times (or one reading it while another read of the same sensor triggers a refresh) can race: one thread's seq_printf() can be part-way through printing the string at the moment another thread's call into update_numeric_sensor_from_wobj() frees it with devm_kfree() and installs a new pointer, causing a use-after-free read. Take state->lock around the read in fungible_show() as well, so it can never run concurrently with the free-and-replace in update_numeric_sensor_from_wobj().

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EPSS — Exploit Prediction

0.0018

Probability of exploitation

0.06%

Percentile rank

EPSS estimates the probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A higher score means more likely to be exploited.

References

Other References

https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/72c85149794a1ccf8d718ffed1521106b5d31968 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/9c1e65bc79ff104914b11e6ad972139296ec86fe https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/b6b2a638aa36c441b2c8d0b6bd8ed2bb9701e795 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/e6cb0b4d4ecb8e71fd2200d907ab2e9663356f69 https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/f59ecfd2c58bace39538f3fff7f43788b3fdb539

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-98200? +

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwmon: (hp-wmi-sensors) Fix use-after-free in fungible_show() nsensor->current_state is dynamically replaced as the sensor's state changes. update_numeric_sensor_from_wobj() does this by freeing the old string and installing a new one: if (strcmp(trimmed, nsensor->current_state)) { new_string = hp_wmi_strdup(dev, trimmed); if (new_string) { devm_kfree(dev, nsensor->current_state); nsensor->current_state = new_string; } } This function is only ever called from hp_wmi_update_info() while state->lock is held, so the free-and-replace itself is properly serialized against concurrent updates. fungible_show(), however, reads the same pointer after the lock has already been dropped: err = hp_wmi_update_info(state, info); if (err) return err; switch (prop) { ... case HP_WMI_PROPERTY_CURRENT_STATE: seq_printf(seqf, "%s\n", nsensor->current_state); break; hp_wmi_update_info() takes state->lock internally and releases it before returning, so by the time fungible_show() dereferences nsensor->current_state in seq_printf(), no lock is held. Two processes reading a sensor's current_state debugfs entry at overlapping times (or one reading it while another read of the same sensor triggers a refresh) can race: one thread's seq_printf() can be part-way through printing the string at the moment another thread's call into update_numeric_sensor_from_wobj() frees it with devm_kfree() and installs a new pointer, causing a use-after-free read. Take state->lock around the read in fungible_show() as well, so it can never run concurrently with the free-and-replace in update_numeric_sensor_from_wobj().

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2026-98200? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.