VulnerabilityPublished 24 Sep 2026Updated 30 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-97501: Linux kernel · pinctrl: mediatek: paris: bypass pinctrl GPIO layer in set GPIO direction

Source GCVE Database

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Authoritative record:CVE-2026-97501· Medium

Not known to be exploited · fixed in f1536772cb3e4aa8d63988051f6fd6e4bb005cf7 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 30 Oct 2026, 17:48 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated Medium by Threat Radar's AI analysis · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

Thin evidence

One scorer or none

Patch: Available – fixed in f1536772cb3e4aa8d63988051f6fd6e4bb005cf7, c87c9046c4e00d599454e033a477176c4d73ac2a, 482ba972f9638f467df2d498b46384a1d1f80529 +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 24 Sep 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponized: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 30 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponized: A Metasploit exploit module or Exploit-DB entry exists (Metasploit scanner modules do not count), or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

ghsa-gwq5-76j7-fm2x

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 805250982bb5c5ce4a6e52e1d87204c5feea0dd1, < f1536772cb3e4aa8d63988051f6fd6e4bb005cf7	Fixed in f1536772cb3e4aa8d63988051f6fd6e4bb005cf7
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 805250982bb5c5ce4a6e52e1d87204c5feea0dd1, < c87c9046c4e00d599454e033a477176c4d73ac2a	Fixed in c87c9046c4e00d599454e033a477176c4d73ac2a
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 805250982bb5c5ce4a6e52e1d87204c5feea0dd1, < 482ba972f9638f467df2d498b46384a1d1f80529	Fixed in 482ba972f9638f467df2d498b46384a1d1f80529
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 805250982bb5c5ce4a6e52e1d87204c5feea0dd1, < 428b031dad390edd5da729b9afd474a95dc4f76b	Fixed in 428b031dad390edd5da729b9afd474a95dc4f76b
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 805250982bb5c5ce4a6e52e1d87204c5feea0dd1, < 3c4897861759fd8bd81dc2ada92121ac76332592	Fixed in 3c4897861759fd8bd81dc2ada92121ac76332592
LinuxLinux	Affected =4.20	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix has been implemented in the Linux kernel by modifying the GPIO set direction callbacks to avoid taking the pinctrl mutex. Users should apply the official kernel update that includes this fix. No additional mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

CVE-2026-97501 is a vulnerability in the Linux kernel's Mediatek Paris pinctrl driver where the GPIO direction setting bypasses the pinctrl GPIO layer, causing improper locking behavior. This leads to a mutex being taken in a context expecting a spinlock, resulting in warnings and potential stability issues. The issue is resolved by changing the GPIO set direction callbacks to avoid taking the pinctrl mutex.

Impact

This vulnerability causes improper locking behavior in the GPIO direction setting code, which can lead to kernel warnings and potential stability issues due to mutexes being taken in contexts expecting spinlocks. There is no indication of direct code execution or privilege escalation impact. No known exploits in the wild have been reported.

Summary

The vulnerability involves the Mediatek Paris pinctrl driver in the Linux kernel where pinctrl_gpio_direction_input() and pinctrl_gpio_direction_output() take the pinctrl mutex, causing gpiochip operations to sleep unexpectedly. The gpiochip's .can_sleep field is not set, so the shared GPIO proxy incorrectly uses a spinlock and then calls a function that takes a mutex, triggering a large warning. The fix switches to directly calling mtk_pinmux_gpio_set_direction() in the GPIO set direction callbacks, avoiding the pinctrl mutex and dropping the .gpio_set_direction field in mtk_pmxops to indicate the bypass of the pinctrl GPIO layer.

References

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