VulnerabilityPublished 18 Oct 2026

CVE-2026-98502: Linux kernel · HID: alps: unregister DualPoint Stick input device on remove

Source GCVE Database

Authoritative record:CVE-2026-98502

Not known to be exploited · fixed in bd9571812d02242b6bba2637fba924a78a5c6fa8 : update Linux kernel when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 14:05 UTC

Severity

Medium

Rated by Threat Radar · CVSS not yet scored by NVD

EPSS: 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 9% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Patch: Available – fixed in bd9571812d02242b6bba2637fba924a78a5c6fa8, aa4845a710ae9fee6a3831f5c338904cea77c3aa, aa9dde93e05a837645fdfd577eea71f0733f0694 +2

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 18 Oct 2026
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: 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 26 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.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, 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-79qw-7wgp-r9xr

What to do

Upgrade to a fixed release listed under Affected software.

Affected software

Product	Affected	Fixed in
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 2562756dde550901c224e3805102bdfc17e7d13a, < bd9571812d02242b6bba2637fba924a78a5c6fa8	Fixed in bd9571812d02242b6bba2637fba924a78a5c6fa8
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 2562756dde550901c224e3805102bdfc17e7d13a, < aa4845a710ae9fee6a3831f5c338904cea77c3aa	Fixed in aa4845a710ae9fee6a3831f5c338904cea77c3aa
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 2562756dde550901c224e3805102bdfc17e7d13a, < aa9dde93e05a837645fdfd577eea71f0733f0694	Fixed in aa9dde93e05a837645fdfd577eea71f0733f0694
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 2562756dde550901c224e3805102bdfc17e7d13a, < 1170ebfba562b3938ff7749b2e42e4420f19436d	Fixed in 1170ebfba562b3938ff7749b2e42e4420f19436d
LinuxLinux	Affected ≥ 2562756dde550901c224e3805102bdfc17e7d13a, < 978e801750c7b0859e87eae619f7d88fcd88333e	Fixed in 978e801750c7b0859e87eae619f7d88fcd88333e
LinuxLinux	Affected =4.8	Fixed in–

AI-suggested

A fix is available that adds a proper .remove handler to the alps_driver struct to stop and unregister the second input device. Users should update to the patched Linux kernel version containing this fix. No other mitigation steps are indicated.

Description

A vulnerability in the Linux kernel's HID alps driver was resolved by adding a proper remove handler. The issue involved a second input device ('DualPoint Stick') being allocated and registered without proper tracking and unregistration on device removal, causing a resource leak. The fix adds a remove handler that stops the device and unregisters the second input device to prevent leaks.

References

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