Vulnerability in Linux

CVE-2026-31486

In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: hwmon: (pmbus/core) Protect regulator operations with mutex The regulator operations pmbus_regulator_get_voltage(), pmbus_regulator_set_voltage(), and pmbus_regulator_list_voltage() access PMBus registers and shared data but were not protected by the update_lock mutex. This could lead to race conditions. However, adding mutex protection directly to these functions causes a deadlock because pmbus_regulator_notify() (which calls regulator_notifier_call_chain()) is often called with the mutex already held (e.g., from pmbus_fault_handler()). If a regulator callback then calls one of the now-protected voltage functions, it will attempt to acquire the same mutex. Rework pmbus_regulator_notify() to utilize a worker function to send notifications outside of the mutex protection. Events are stored as atomics in a per-page bitmask and processed by the worker. Initialize the worker and its associated data during regulator registration, and ensure it is cancelled on device removal using devm_add_action_or_reset(). While at it, remove the unnecessary include of linux/of.h.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.1 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.001 (2.3th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 2nd percentile — 2.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2026-31486: held from 0.001 to 0.001.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.001 · newest: 0.001 · change: +0.000

Affected products

  • Linux — versions 3.19, ddbb4db4ced1ba784fcd3500179a7291b6c5d7b7, 6.19.11
  • Linux Kernel — versions 3.19, 7.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-31486?
CVE-2026-31486 is a high-severity vulnerability in Linux, classified under Improper Locking. CVSS score: 7.1/10. Published 2026-04-22.
How severe is CVE-2026-31486?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.1 out of 10.