CVE-2026-23158: In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: virtuser: fix UAF in configfs release path The gpio-virtuser configfs release path u

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: virtuser: fix UAF in configfs release path The gpio-virtuser configfs release path u

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: gpio: virtuser: fix UAF in configfs release path The gpio-virtuser configfs release path uses guard(mutex) to protect the device structure. However, the device is freed before the guard cleanup runs, causing mutex_unlock() to operate on freed memory. Specifically, gpio_virtuser_device_config_group_release() destroys the mutex and frees the device while still inside the guard(mutex) scope. When the function returns, the guard cleanup invokes mutex_unlock(&dev->lock), resulting in a slab use-after-free. Limit the mutex lifetime by using a scoped_guard() only around the activation check, so that the lock is released before mutex_destroy() and kfree() are called.

Description from the National Vulnerability Database, published by 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

What it means for a small business

Linux is on the computers, phones or browsers your team uses every day. Turn on automatic updates and restart: most of these fixes only take effect after a restart.

How likely is an attack? The Exploit Prediction Scoring System, run by FIRST (the global association of security response teams), puts the odds of this one being exploited in the next 30 days at 0.14%, higher than 3% of CVEs. That’s low, but low isn’t zero, and the odds jump the day someone publishes an exploit. Scored November 5, 2026, updated daily.

Check your own setup

Website check: reads what your site runs from the outside (WordPress version, plugins it can see, old server software) and matches it against this database.
Server check: what your web server says about itself, and whether that version has known flaws.

Sources

Part of the Huttenlocher Technologies vulnerability database, refreshed twice a day from CISA and the NVD. The title, category and plain-language guidance are ours; check the linked record before acting on a detail. This is general guidance, not a review of your systems.

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