Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessObtain local access with steam HID device bound
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ExploitTrigger HID steam driver teardown
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ExecutionRace scheduled callback against freed steam struct
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ImpactCorrupt kernel memory for privilege escalation
Vulnerability Assessment
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires the HID steam driver (CONFIG_HID_STEAM) to be loaded, which in practice means a Steam Controller or Steam Deck controller device is present and bound. The flaw is a use-after-free triggered in a narrow timing window during the driver teardown sequence, when callbacks (including rumble and mode-switch work) can still be scheduled against the freed steam struct; the exact attacker-controlled trigger is not described in the available sources. Limiting factors that reduce realistic risk: the attack vector is local (AV:L) and requires privileges per the supplied vector (PR:L, i.e. authentication requirements indicate a non-anonymous local actor), the race window is narrow, and the system must actually have the steam HID hardware/driver active - systems without this gaming-peripheral driver are not exposed. |
| Impact | Severity is genuinely high on paper (CVSS 7.8) but real-world urgency is moderate, and the signals are broadly consistent rather than conflicting. The supplied vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H describes a locally exploitable, low-privilege flaw with full confidentiality, integrity and availability impact - consistent with a kernel use-after-free leading to memory corruption and potential local privilege escalation. However, EPSS is only 0.21% (11th percentile), there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit is identified, so widespread opportunistic exploitation is unlikely; the vuln.today priority of this_week (not act_now/emergency) matches that picture. One caveat: the supplied vector uses AC:L, yet the upstream description explicitly calls this a 'narrow window during the teardown sequence,' i.e. a timing-dependent race, so the practical attack complexity is higher than AC:L implies. Exposure is further bounded by the fact that the affected code is the HID steam driver, which is only active when Steam Controller/Steam Deck hardware is bound. CWE is listed as N/A; the class (use-after-free) is inferred from the description, not vendor-assigned. Net: a legitimate patch-this-week priority for systems that actually load this driver, not a drop-everything emergency. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | On a system where the HID steam driver is loaded (a Steam Controller or Steam Deck controller is present/bound), a local user triggers the driver teardown sequence - for example by causing the device to detach while rumble or mode-switch work and other callbacks are still scheduled. In the narrow teardown window, one of those callbacks runs against the now-freed steam struct (use-after-free), corrupting kernel memory and potentially enabling local privilege escalation. No public exploit code is identified at time of analysis. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Oct 24, 2026
A use-after-free in the Linux kernel's HID steam driver (hid-steam, CONFIG_HID_STEAM) lets a local actor with existing privileges on the machine reach a narrow timing window during driver teardown, where callbacks - including rumble and mode-switch work - can still be scheduled against a steam struct that has already been freed, leaving a dangling pointer that yields high confidentiality, integrity and availability impact. Only systems that have the driver built and loaded, in practice machines with a Steam Controller or Steam Deck controller bound, are exposed; the assessed vector is local with PR:L and AC:H, so the race window is narrow and the actor is not anonymous. Severity is genuinely high on paper (CVSS 7.8) but real-world urgency is moderate: EPSS is 0.21% (11th percentile), there is no CISA KEV listing, and no public exploit code has been identified at time of analysis.
RemediationAI
Vendor-released patch: apply the stable kernel updates that contain the rearranged teardown sequence - 6.6.160, 6.12.113, 6.18.57 and 7.2.11 - or move to 7.3 where the fix is in mainline; the corresponding stable commits are d2587923d50c8b141ce0ccb284c714cf6054d6a7, 81a8209c09f9be7eef860ca6cc154749a6b4d243, 86724f4bcf6049c3a322f7a7b1f968210059c46a, b5ea938ff776306798d3a11485c2475034f92131 and ddce9641ce924ed91ec8304577e463823a29ffaf, all reachable via https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/<commit>, with tracking at https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-98945. Distribution kernels that backport the commit will carry their own build version, so verify against the vendor's kernel changelog rather than the upstream number. Because the defect is only reachable when the hid-steam driver is active, hosts that do not use Steam Controller or Steam Deck controllers and do not load CONFIG_HID_STEAM fall outside the exposure set, but that scoping reflects the driver's own binding requirements and is not a substitute for installing the fixed kernel on machines that do use the hardware. No public exploit code has been identified, and EPSS remains low at 0.21%, so this aligns with a this_week remediation cadence rather than emergency response.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
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Technical ContextAI · show details
The flaw lives in the kernel HID subsystem's hid-steam driver, which binds Steam Controller and Steam Deck controller devices and implements features such as rumble and mode switching via scheduled work. The teardown sequence did not order cancellation correctly relative to freeing the per-device steam structure, so callbacks could still be queued during cleanup and then dereference memory that had already been released - a classic use-after-free whose root cause class is improper resource shutdown ordering rather than any flaw in the HID transport itself. The upstream fix, titled 'HID: steam: Rearrange teardown sequence', moves work cancellation for rumble and mode switch into steam_unregister so that pending work cannot persist while the client hdev is open. The CPE data (cpe:2.3:a:linux:linux) reflects that the issue was inherited from the earliest git history (commit 1da177e4c3f4), so every kernel branch carrying the driver is affected until the specific stable backports are applied. No CWE was supplied with the record, and the exact attacker-controlled trigger condition is not described in the available sources; the assessed vector (AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N) indicates a local, non-anonymous actor and a high-complexity race rather than a simple deterministic path. Systems without CONFIG_HID_STEAM loaded are out of scope entirely.
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Severity by source
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Local kernel driver UAF, so AV:L; the described 'narrow window' teardown race justifies AC:H; local low-privilege access gives PR:L; memory corruption yields full C/I/A impact.
Primary rating from Vendor (Linux).
CVSS VectorVendor: Linux
Lifecycle Timeline
4DescriptionCVE.org
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
HID: steam: Rearrange teardown sequence
This fixes a narrow window during the teardown sequence where callbacks could still be scheduled during cleanup that would then have a dangling pointer to the now-freed steam struct.
This also puts work canceling for rumble and mode switch in steam_unregister, as that shouldn't persist while the client hdev is open.
Executive ViewAI
A high-severity use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel's HID steam driver (CVE-2026-98945) could allow a local attacker with existing privileges to crash or compromise systems that have Steam Controllers or Steam Deck controllers attached. While the attack requires local access and a narrow timing window, successful exploitation could lead to full loss of confidentiality, integrity, and availability on affected machines, making patching a priority for organizations with such hardware.
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Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
EUVD-2026-108919
GHSA-fhx7-57xw-qfjc
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Exploit-DB