Linux Kernel up to 6.18.15/6.19.5 gpio /sys/class/gpio gpiod_unexport privilege escalation

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability identified as critical has been detected in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.15/6.19.5. Affected by this issue is the function gpiod_unexport of the file /sys/class/gpio of the component gpio. Performing a manipulation results in an unknown weakness. This vulnerability is identified as CVE-2026-43181. There is not any exploit available. You should upgrade the affected component.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Linux Kernel up to 6.18.15/6.19.5. This affects the function gpiod_unexport of the file /sys/class/gpio of the component gpio. The impact remains unknown. The summary by CVE is:

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.

The advisory is shared at git.kernel.org. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-43181 since 05/01/2026. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. The price for an exploit might be around USD $0-$5k at the moment (estimation calculated on 05/06/2026).

Upgrading to version 6.18.16 or 6.19.6 eliminates this vulnerability. Applying the patch 54f463494eb5bf193ef7d904a493474c451734df/a645cc25904b0baf508b77a0402ce151212b9800/6766f59012301f1bf3f46c6e7149caca45d92309 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at git.kernel.org. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

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Productinfo

Type

• Operating System

Vendor

• Linux

Name

• Kernel

Version

• 6.18.0
• 6.18.1
• 6.18.2
• 6.18.3
• 6.18.4
• 6.18.5
• 6.18.6
• 6.18.7
• 6.18.8
• 6.18.9
• 6.18.10
• 6.18.11
• 6.18.12
• 6.18.13
• 6.18.14
• 6.18.15
• 6.19.0
• 6.19.1
• 6.19.2
• 6.19.3
• 6.19.4
• 6.19.5

License

• open-source

Website

• Vendor: https://www.kernel.org/

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