CVE-2026-45981 | s390/cio: Fix device lifecycle handling in css_alloc_subchannel()

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/cio: Fix device lifecycle handling in css_alloc_subchannel() `css_alloc_subchannel()` calls `device_initialize()` before setting up the DMA masks. If `dma_set_coherent_mask()` or `dma_set_mask()` fails, the error path frees the subchannel structure directly, bypassing the device model reference counting. Once `device_initialize()` has been called, the embedded struct device must be released via `put_device()`, allowing the release callback to free the container structure. Fix the error path by dropping the initial device reference with `put_device()` instead of calling `kfree()` directly. This ensures correct device lifetime handling and avoids potential use-after-free or double-free issues.

Published: 2026-05-27 Last update: 2026-06-01 Assigner: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67 Source: 416baaa9-dc9f-4396-8d5f-8c081fb06d67

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2026-45981 is rated Low Risk (7.4/100): low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.02%). Mandatory action: Low composite risk—no urgent action required; patch on your normal maintenance cycle and revisit priority if CVSS or EPSS increases.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-45981

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-28 0.02%

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-45981

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

No CVSS data in dataset for this CVE.

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-45981

GitHub Security Advisory for CVE-2026-45981

GHSA-w3x6-6f6f-54f3 · Severity: unknown — In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/cio: Fix device...

OS Trackers for CVE-2026-45981

vendor priority summary link
debian not yet assigned CVE-2026-45981 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (linux), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2026-45981
redhat medium https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-45981
suse medium CVE-2026-45981 severity moderate: SUSE including 14 source package names (cluster-md-kmp-default, dlm-kmp-default, …), 39 product×package rows across 8 product lines (SUSE Linux Enterprise Live Patching 12 SP5, SUSE Linux Enterprise Micro 5.0, … (8 product lines)): Known Not Affected 39. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-45981/
ubuntu medium CVE-2026-45981 medium priority: Ubuntu including 158 source packages (linux, linux-allwinner-5.19, …), 1422 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, questing, resolute, trusty, upstream, xenial): DNE 1024, ignored 173, needed 112, released 84, pending 18, not-affected 10, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2026-45981

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-45981

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
No affected products in dataset.

References for CVE-2026-45981

cvelogic Threat Intelligence