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Linux Kernel EUVDEUVD-2026-26648

| CVE-2026-43049 HIGH
Use After Free (CWE-416)
2026-05-01 Linux
7.8
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
View

Attack ChainAIDerived

Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain

  1. Recon
    Connect Logitech G920 device
  2. Delivery
    Trigger FF init failure
  3. Exploit
    Maintain file descriptor to /dev/input
  4. Install
    Kernel frees backing memory
  5. C2
    Race R/W operations on freed region
  6. Execute
    Corrupt kernel heap structures
  7. Impact
    Execute arbitrary kernel code
  8. Step 8
    Escalate to root privileges

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Memory lifecycle management
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Execution, Privilege Escalation

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

Exploitation Conditions

Attack requires local authenticated access (PR:L from CVSS vector) to a Linux system running vulnerable kernel version. Specific hardware prerequisite is physical connection of Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel for Xbox One via USB, which must undergo force feedback initialization failure during device probe. Exploitation is limited to x86/x64 and ARM platforms where this USB gaming peripheral is supported. Attack complexity is low (AC:L) post-setup but requires attacker control over device probe timing and ability to maintain userspace references during error conditions. No special kernel configuration or non-default settings required beyond standard HID subsystem support (CONFIG_HID_LOGITECH_HIDPP=y/m). User interaction not required (UI:N). The hardware dependency significantly limits real-world attack surface to gaming systems and esports facilities rather than enterprise servers or embedded systems.

Impact

Real-world exploitation risk is LOW despite the 7.8 CVSS score. The attack vector is local (AV:L) requiring low privileges (PR:L) and physical presence of a specific Logitech G920 racing wheel, dramatically limiting the attack surface compared to network-exploitable kernel vulnerabilities. EPSS score of 0.02% at 5th percentile confirms security community assessment that this is unlikely to see widespread exploitation. No CISA KEV listing and no public exploit code identified at time of analysis. The SSVC framework would classify this as 'Scheduled' priority: technical impact is total system compromise (UAF enables arbitrary code execution in kernel context), but exploitation requires local access, specific hardware, and race conditions against device initialization timing. Attack complexity is low (AC:L) once prerequisites are met, but the narrow hardware dependency (gaming peripheral) and local-only vector make this primarily relevant for gaming workstations and shared gaming systems rather than servers or cloud infrastructure. Organizations without Logitech G920 devices can safely deprioritize. CVSS accurately reflects post-exploitation impact but overweights risk for typical enterprise environments where this hardware is absent.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

Local attacker with standard user account on a Linux gaming workstation connects a Logitech G920 racing wheel and triggers force feedback initialization failure through malformed device firmware or by manipulating /sys entries during device probe. The attacker maintains open file descriptors to /dev/input/eventX and sysfs nodes while the kernel frees underlying memory structures. By racing read/write operations against the freed memory region, the attacker corrupts kernel heap metadata or function pointers, achieving arbitrary kernel code execution and escalating to root privileges. Publicly available exploit code exists: NO. Attack requires precise timing and heap grooming techniques typical of kernel UAF exploitation.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – May 07, 2026

Use-after-free in Linux kernel HID subsystem allows local attackers with low privileges to achieve arbitrary code execution, privilege escalation, or denial of service when force feedback initialization fails on Logitech G920 racing wheels. The vulnerability occurs when userspace continues accessing freed memory structures (sysfs and /dev/input) after initialization errors. Vendor patches available across multiple stable kernel branches (6.12.81, 6.18.22, 6.19.12, 7.0). EPSS score of 0.02% (5th percentile) indicates very low probability of mass exploitation, consistent with hardware-specific local attack surface requiring physical device presence.

RemediationAI

Upgrade to patched kernel versions: 6.12.81 or later in 6.12.x series, 6.18.22 or later in 6.18.x series, 6.19.12 or later in 6.19.x series, or 7.0 mainline. Distribution-specific updates from Red Hat, Ubuntu, Debian, SUSE will incorporate these commits into their kernel packages with vendor-specific version numbers. Kernel advisories available at kernel.org stable tree links provided in references. For systems that cannot immediately patch, compensating control is to blacklist the logitech-hidpp kernel module via /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf (add 'blacklist hid_logitech_hidpp'), which prevents the vulnerable driver from loading but also disables all Logitech advanced HID features for affected devices. This workaround is only viable if Logitech G920 wheels are not business-critical peripherals. Alternative mitigation is restricting physical USB port access to prevent untrusted device connections, though this does not protect against attacks by already-authenticated local users with their own gaming peripherals. No significant operational side effects from patching expected as fix maintains device functionality by converting fatal errors to warnings.

Affected VersionsENISA

Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <b846fb0a73e99174f08238e083e284c0463a2102
Linux patch: 7.0
Linux patch: 6.19.12
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <772f99cc8d6e5d95613bce93c9624e154c1abe88
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <f7a4c78bfeb320299c1b641500fe7761eadbd101
Linux 1da177e4c3f41524e886b7f1b8a0c1fc7321cac2 <9a793ac19eb84f44ed759c0fce80cf29bc2a2453
Linux patch: 6.18.22
Linux patch: 6.12.81

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability affects the Linux kernel HID (Human Interface Device) subsystem, specifically the logitech-hidpp driver that handles advanced Logitech gaming peripherals. The root cause is CWE-416 (Use After Free) occurring during device probe operations. When force feedback (FF) initialization fails for the Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel, the driver returns an error but fails to properly tear down userspace-facing infrastructure including sysfs entries and /dev/input device nodes. If userspace processes maintain file descriptors or references to these structures and continue I/O operations, they access freed kernel memory. The affected code path involves the device probe sequence where resource cleanup ordering is incorrect, violating the principle that all externally-visible interfaces must be removed before freeing backing memory structures. The fix changes error handling to treat FF initialization failure as non-fatal, emitting warnings but maintaining device functionality minus force feedback features.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.8 HIGH
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SUSE HIGH
Red Hat 5.5 MEDIUM

Primary rating from NVD.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
Low
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Lifecycle Timeline

5
CVSS changed
May 07, 2026 - 19:07 NVD
7.8 (HIGH)
Patch available
May 01, 2026 - 16:33 EUVD
Patch released
May 01, 2026 - 15:24 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
May 01, 2026 - 14:15 nvd
HIGH 7.8
CVE Published
May 01, 2026 - 14:15 nvd
N/A

DescriptionNVD

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:

HID: logitech-hidpp: Prevent use-after-free on force feedback initialisation failure

Presently, if the force feedback initialisation fails when probing the Logitech G920 Driving Force Racing Wheel for Xbox One, an error number will be returned and propagated before the userspace infrastructure (sysfs and /dev/input) has been torn down. If userspace ignores the errors and continues to use its references to these dangling entities, a UAF will promptly follow.

We have 2 options; continue to return the error, but ensure that all of the infrastructure is torn down accordingly or continue to treat this condition as a warning by emitting the message but returning success. It is thought that the original author's intention was to emit the warning but keep the device functional, less the force feedback feature, so let's go with that.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

CVE-2026-43049 is a use-after-free vulnerability in the Linux kernel HID subsystem that could allow local attackers with low privileges to execute arbitrary code or escalate privileges on systems using Logitech G920 racing wheels. This vulnerability is highly hardware-specific and requires local access, limiting organizational risk primarily to specialized environments such as gaming labs, esports facilities, or automotive simulation centers where such devices are deployed.

Business Impact: Low
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. For systems where immediate patching is not feasible: disable force feedback initialization on Logitech G920 devices through kernel module parameters or disable the affected HID device entirely until kernel update is applied.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 95% exploitable
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High

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.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Defer
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact
Low

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +39
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Use-after-free vulnerabilities occur when a program continues to access memory through a pointer after that memory has been deallocated.

Memory corruption occurs when a program writes data beyond the boundaries of allocated memory regions or accesses memory in unintended ways, violating the integrity of the process's address space.

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: High
Product Status
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Availability Extension 15 SP7 Fixed
SUSE Linux Enterprise High Performance Computing 15 SP7 Fixed

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